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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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LAST WOKDS 



Old-time memories. 



ORIGINAL AND COMPILED 

$wm ttu part ^vAJmAU ^mxSfi. 



BY 

Rey. MAXWELL PIERSON GADDIS, Sen.. 

(Of the Cincinnati Annual Conference.) 



Author of " Foot-Printsof^^ti^prantfi'^ttifcef Recollections," " Sacred 

Hour/* "Conversion of a Skeptic," "Personal Experience," 

" Saintly Women and Death-Bed Triumphs." 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

BISHOP RANDOLPH S! FOSTER, D. D., LL.D. 



JHf. 



1*4% ,« 



\i 



NEW YORK AND PITTSBURGH: 
Phillips & Htjnt;^. 
CINCINNATI AND CHIGAGO: " 

Walden & Stowe. 

1880. 



a 



•ft*** 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, 

By REV. MAXWELL P. GADDIS, Sen., 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



IB UtftAftT] 



Unitbd Brethren Publishing Housi 

Printers, Stereotypers, Binders, 

Dayton, Ohio. 



PREFACE. 



^r 



I have no apology to offer for publishing another good book. 
"Good books," says John Milton, "are the precious life-blood 
of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose 
for a life beyond life. They garner up the wisdom and piety 
of one generation, and preserve it for after-generations. They 
form a spiritual telegraph between the past and the present, 
along whose wires the sanctified thoughts and emotions of 
Isaiah and Paul, and other good men, may speed to our hearts 
to quicken our faith and fire our zeal. Without them the 
scholar and the divine are like the mechanic without his 
tools; with them, the mechanic may become the scholar and 
the divine. They constitute the great store-house of truth 
for the world." 

Rev. Dr. E. Went worth, after looking over the "General Min- 
utes for 1875," truthfully remarks: "In looking over the ac- 
counts given of the last hours of these departed ministerial 
brethren we may say, without undue boasting, 'Our preachers 
die well.' Some went suddenly, some in great pain, and some 
sunk into unconsciousness and so passed quietly away. But in 
every instance where there were opportunities for testimony 
to the power of religion to save in the dying hour it was freely, 
often triumphantly, given. It refreshes our hearts to look over 
this precious death-roll. In this fast and fastidious age relig- 
ious obituaries are regarded as stale reading even by church- 
members. Few styles of reading are more edifying than bi- 
ography ; and obituary is only condensed biography. Relig- 
ious obituary, like religious biography, is profitable reading, 
enjoyed by thousands, and useful both to mind and heart. 

Last words — words spoken in the presence of death, eternity, 



IV PREFACE. 

and a nearness to God,— are a treasured legacy to survivors. Of 
the poorest and meanest son of Adam, even of the criminal on 
the gallows, it is eagerly asked, 'How did he die V 'What were 
his dying words ?' What wonder, then, that Christians prize 
the dying testimonies of the saints, and that there is a wide- 
spread desire, quite beyond the circle of actual acquaintance, 
to learn how our departed fellow-mortals wrestled with the 
grim destroyer ! " 

I am glad to say that the reader will find that question satis- 
factorily answered in these precious records by the dying tes- 
timony and last words of more than three hundred and twen- 
ty-five ministers of the gospel and several well-known laymen 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

I hope that as a church we never forget that for the vantage- 
ground we are now permitted to enjoy we are deeply indebted 
to instrumentalities long since passed away. 

I have not attempted in this volume a descriptive view of 
the adventurous scenes of the Christian pioneers of Method- 
ism in the East, West, North, or South, but simply to record 
the glorious truth that after having "waxed valiant in-^ight' 
they died in great peace, or with swelling notes of triumph in 
their last hours. 

In examining the means of the unprecedented success of the 
first Methodist preachers in the country, I have arrived at the 
conclusion that while they always aimed directly at the salva- 
tion of souls, their success may be chifly ascribed to their great 
simplicity and earnestness of manner in preaching the gospel. 
There was nothing studied, formal, or artificial. The vast con- 
cerns of eternity were felt to hang upon the hour ; and like 
judicious husbandmen they aimed at securing the fruit of their 
labor at once, and in due season. 

I have no fear but that my humble effort will be appreciated 
by my brethren in the ministry, to whom this volume is affec- 
tionately dedicated. 

Maxwell Pierson Gaddis. 

Oakwood, Dayton, Ohio, Aug. 10, 1880. 



INTRODUCTION. 



O Death, what hast thou done ! How hast thou laid waste 
the fairest fields of human delights 1 How hast thou covered 
the world with the monuments of thy woe ! Thou hast left no 
home unblighted in all the centuries. Thou ravenoust still. All 
faces turn pale at thy approach ; and every heart stands still 
when thou comest. In thy train go thick-veiled mourners. 
Thy captives go into darkness, and return not again. Tears 
and entreaties move thee not, nor the prayers and sobs of 
stricken millions. Thou respectest not age, nor the mother's 
love, nor the bride's joy, nor the infant's innocence, nor the 
young man's hope, nor any earthly dignity. Thou relentest 
not. But know, thou, that there is One mightier than thou. 
In one moment he will rob thee of all thy glory. He will 
empty thy prisons; thy captives shall come again. We have 
heard of him, and we defy thee. Ghostly tyrant, we hurl back 
thy terrors. Yea, we bid thee do thy worst, and thou shalt not 
make us afraid: for our Redeemer liveth. Herein we recite 
how the frail and weak have wrenched the victory from thy 
hand ; how they have mocked thy terrors and triumphed ; 
how, because of One who went with them, they have gone 
shouting through thy dominions. 

The last utterances of dying saints are always treasured with 
interest by loving friends, and possess a certain value for all. 
Among the multitudes of memories that must forever be pre- 
cious, these will forever be the most precious. Having solaced 
the sad moments of parting, they still linger to permanently 
mitigate the griefs of separation. We retain them as precious 
pledges of reunion— .is souvenirs until we strike glad hands 
again in brighter climes. They are our wand, our guerdons, 
our signal •;, with which we chase away fear and cheer the lone- 
liness of our journey. 

The happy thought came to the author and compiler of this 
volume to collect in a convenient and readable form a consid- 
erable number of such sayings of ministers and the wives of 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

ministers, persons well and widely known, and of other persons, 
who were favored with special comforts in their last moments. 

The gleaning is from so wide a field that but few persons can 
turn to the contents without finding some name that will 
awaken sympathetic and pleasing memories. 

If it is true that it is by the life we are to judge and appre- 
ciate men, and also that many of the noblest and purest are 
least noticeable in their deaths, — and we accept both statements, 
— it is no less true that those who most triumph, as a rule, tri- 
umph because of special grace experienced while they were in 
health, and as the culmination of wise and well-spent lives. 

To live well is to die well, though no word be spoken and no 
sign be given. Still, let us praise God that some are permitted 
to send back victorious words from the valley and shadow 
while crossing. 

When we think of death, and all that death means, we won- 
der how it is possible to die with any composure ; much more 
that we should go with rejoicing. How can it be explained 
that the pastor should resign his flock, the mother her child? 
the loving husband or Avife the cherished companion, and go 
with singing and shoutings out into the dark of death,— dark 
to mortal vision, and impenetrable to sense and reason alike, 
— if it be not that supernatural help is vouchsafed in the crit- 
ical moment? Mere nature may be dumb and silent from 
impotence, may show no sign, may go sullen, like the galley- 
slave, to his task, or the prisoner to his dungeon -cell ; but that 
a soul should go with delight and gladness is the wonder of 
wonders. It implies more than mere blind faith, more than 
fond imagination, more than self-kindled, groundless hopes. 
Death robs of too much precious wealth, blasts too much ten - 
der affection, is too sad a chapter inhuman experience not to 
utterly destroy us, were it not that somehow there comes to us 
light from beyond. In the awful wreck there is a Presence. 
An unseen hand upholds us. Faith, inspired by an infinite 
and loving friend, lends its realizing light. The valley be- 
comes luminous. Other wealth is descried beyond ; other 
friends open their arms for us. The whole aspect of the case 
is changed. That which just before seemed untouched, now 
seems gain. Blessed be Gfod, who giveth us the victory 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Randolph S. Foster. 

No. 59 Rutland St., Boston, Mass., August i, 1880. 



LAST WORDS 

—AND— 

OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 



Our Ministers Die Well. 



Rev. Horace Agard was born January, 1776, and 

died 1850, aged 64 years. On Monday, two days 

before his death, his fearful apprehensions had all 

fled, no more to return. And now he began his 

songs of triumph, and exclaimed, "Praise the 

Lord !" " Glory to God !" "Jesus is precious !" 

" Precious Savior !" 

"I'll praise him while he lends me breath, 
And when my voice is lost in death 
Praise shall employ my nobler powers." 

On the evening of the same day he seemed to 
have the wakefulness of a disembodied spirit; and 
not being inclined to sleep, he oft repeated, — 

"Jesus can make a dying bed 

Feel soft as downy pillows are, 
While on his breast I lean my head, 

And breathe my life out sweetly there." 



8 LAST WORDS AND 

And being very joyful during the whole night, 
and prayer having now given place to praise, 
though not accustomed to sing, he attempted to 
sing that sublimest of doxologies, — 

'Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 4 

Praise him, all creatures here below, 
Praise him above, ye heavenly host, 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

On Tuesday he had a most ravishing view of 
the invisible world, and exclaimed, in transports, 
" I see heaven open before me ;" " I gaze on sparks 
of dazzling light, which are undimmed by the 
gaze ;" " I dwell with angels and God forever ;" 
" Yes, I shall go to heaven-!^" Oh, the prospect !" 
" The glorious prospect ! it is worth a whole life 
of toil. Glory to God ! Glory to God !" Then 
stretching up his thin, palsied hand, and pointing 
toward heaven, he exclaimed, "Oh, beautiful! 
beautiful ! beautiful !" 

"When we've been there ten thousand years, 

Bright shining as the sun, 
We've no less days to sing God's praise, 

Than when we first begun." 

" Lonely is the grave of the aged itinerant on the 
bank of the most lovely of waters. It is already 
overgrown with the densely tangled but modest 
moss-pink ; and fragrant flowers are flinging their 
odors around the spot, and young trees are send- 
ing their branches toward heaven to cast a friendly 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 9 

shade over his ashes. His brethren — the ministers 
of the gospel he loved — placed him in his silent 
abode, and mute, eloquent, sorrowing tears they 
dropped to his memory. The beautiful Susque- 
hanna flows gently by his last resting-place. 
Sweetly the birds carol their rich melodies over 
him. The zephyrs sigh in sympathy with our 
hearts as they move the green leaves of the family 
grave- yard. 

" Winter's snowy mantle rested on the spot when 
we made the lonely bed of the itinerant in the 
frozen earth, but no snows whiten the plains of 
the heavenly country whither he has gone. He 
saw its golden streets ere yet the spirit had quit 
its earthly abode. His eye, growing dim to 
earthly scenes, rested on the splendors of the 
better land, and he exclaimed, 'Beautiful ! beauti- 
ful V His sense of physical existence faded ; but 
there came in its stead a consciousness of a more 
glorious world, and he whispered, 'I dwell with 
angels and God/ His utterance grew feeble, but 
the sweet < hallelujah' lingered on the tongue. 
'Twas thus our father left us, and his sainted spirit 
went to join the triumphs of Garretson, Ostrander, 
Fisk, Emory, and many other glorified ones, with 
whom he was so sweetly associated here." 

Eev. Charles W. Ayars was born February 22, 
1836, in Philadelphia, Pa., and died November 18, 



10 LAST WORDS AND 

1869. Before his death he sung the whole of the 
hymn commencing, — 

"Father, I stretch my hands to thee, 
No other help I know," etc. 

And also, — 

"My suffering time will soon be o'er, 
Then I shall sigh and weep no more." 

Also, — 

"I am going home to die no more," etc. 

Thus indicating beautifully the happy state of 
his mind and head. 

"He's gone, the spotless soul is gone, 

Triumphant to his place above ; 
The prison walls are broken down ; 

The angels speed his swift remove, 
And shouting on their wings he flies, 

And gains his rest in paradise." 

Kev. John B. Alverson, born in Seneca, Ontario 
County, 1ST. Y., October, 1793, died September 21, 
1850. " My Savior is mine ; I am his. I count 
it a joy and honor to labor in his cause. The 
prospect before me is bright and glorious; the 
motives of the future are inviting; Jesus calls; 
let me go." 

Rev. James Akins, a native of Ireland, was 
born in the year of our Lord 1778, came to 
America in 1792, experienced religion in the State 
of Pennsylvania, and attached himself to the 
Methodist Church in 1795. He entered into the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 11 

itinerant ministry in 1801. He endured a very 
painful illness of twenty-three days — from a can- 
cerous ulcer on his face — with great patience. To 
the family with whom he stayed, he observed, in 
the presence of his physician, "I shall die here. 
God has called me into the work, and called me 
out of it ; medical aid can not save me." 

Being interrogated by his physician, "For what 
shall we pray ?" he replied, " That God may finish 
his work." " What are your exercises relative to 
death V " I have no choice — no will of my own." 
Being asked (perhaps an hour or two before he 
expired), "Do you experience much pain?" he 
answered, " No." " Is Jesus precious?" "Yes." 
"Do you see anything to obstruct your passage to 
the kingdom?" "No." 

Rev. William Adams died at Mt. . On 

Sunday night he began to sink under his disease — 
called me to him, and told me, " Something seems 
to say to me, I am fast shaking hands with Time. 
I think. I shall soon be gone. I see nothing here 
worth living for, unless it is to do a little good in 
the church. If it be better to depart and be with 
Christ, I want to go and see him." "We must 
soon part ; you have done a great deal to sustain 
the gospel. Around and underneath you be the 
everlasting arms. Every day and every hour lean 
upon the Lord." 



12 LAST WORDS AND 

He requested the family to come together, and 
pray with him. He joined us in singing, and 
after prayer he shouted aloud, "Glory, glory to 
God ! God is love." Soon after, he said, "It is a 
very easy death." He then sung, — 

"With ease our souls through death shall glide, 

Into their paradise ; 
And thence on wings of angels ride, 

Triumphant through the skies." 

The children of his daughter were then led to 
his bedside to receive his blessing, when he said, 
M The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob bless the children. The blessing of 
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost rest 
upon you." His son's children were then brought 
to him, and he said, "The Lord bless the children. 
The Lord bless little William, and make him a 
good soldier of Jesus Christ, to win souls to his 
Redeemer." " Tell the preachers to live to God — 
to live to God alone." "It is perfectly calm." He 
turned his eyes upward and said, " I don't know 
but we will get to Zion together — there is a mighty 
rush. Wait a few minutes, and I will be ready." 

Eev. Geobge Askin, a native of Ireland. He 
entered the traveling ministry in 1801. He had 
a severe conflict with the enemy of his soul, but 
was enabled to declare that God had delivered 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 13 

him, and immediately commenced singing, "Glory 
glory, Glory, hallelujah." 

The evening preceding his death, his afflicted 
companion asked him, " My dear, are you going to 
leave me ?" To which he replied, " Leave that to 
the Lord. If I go, I shall be happy." A few 
minutes' before his departure he saw his affection- 
ate wife' kneeling by the bed, and asked her if she 
was willing to let him go. She replied, " That is 
hard to say, but I desire to be resigned to the will 
of God." He answered, "That is right," and took 
his leave of her. During his illness he continu- 
ally gave himself up to his God in prayer, fre- 
quently calling upon the surrounding friends to 
sing and pray, expressing an unshaken confidence 
in God and a desire to depart and be with Christ ; 
and even to his last moments he would raise his 
hands and praise God. 

He retained his senses to the last, and about ten 
minutes before his exit asked his Christian friends 
to sing, " Oh, glorious hope of perfect love." Some 
of his last words were, "The Lord our God is my 
God ;" " Oh, what a beautiful prospect lies before 
me ;" " Holiness is the way to heaven ;" " Be ye 
clean that bear the vessel of the Lord — get 
all you can in the way of heaven — my God is 
mine and I am his — I have been in the dark 
mountains, but King Jesus has given me complete 



14 LAST WORDS AND 

victory — glory, honor, praise, and power be to 
God." 

Rev. M. Alverson died in New York with face 
aglow and eyes fixed upon the unseen. He cried 
out, "Heaven ! glory ! glory ! glory ! Angels all 
in white ! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Bless the Lord. 

death, where is thy sting ? grave, where is 
thy victory?" etc. 

Rev. Moses Amedon was born October 10, 1794, 
in Reedsborough, Vt., and died on the 21st of 
March, 1830. The night preceding his dissolu- 
tion, on being asked the state of his mind, and 
whether he was willing to exchange worlds, he 
replied, " Willing, willing, willing !" and fell 
asleep in Jesus. 

Rev. William R. Anderson was born in Ross 
County, Ohio, in 1810, and died in Franklin, Ohio, 
1845. The approach of death gave him no alarm. 
He said to his wife, " I should be pleased to live 
a few years longer ; but the matter is understood — 

1 can not get well. Oh, what a blessed thing re- 
ligion is. Bless the Lord, my soul." To one 
present, who was not religious, he said, "How 
important it is to seek the Lord in health. If I 
had not obtained the forgiveness of my sins in 
health, it would now be too late. In my present 
afflicted state, I could not repent and pray. I 



U -TOO MEM I.IKS. 15 

all my life, and now I 
! — . >w Ian ... 

Rev. James B. Austin was born in Surry 

. A igust lo. IS A 
moved to Ohio A 1S11. and was converted at the 
early age of 'en years. In 1S-S he joined 

nee. His last illness was long and 

painful. "VThiie a brother was reading, at his re- 

t, the twenty-third Psalm, he exclaimed fre- 

y. "Bless the Lord; precious Savior! I 

am perfectly resigned to Ac will :: the Lord. I 

the jhurch :;n do without me. but I have 

always said that I ; : a. I not :. j with : at tne mar A, 

There remaiueth a rest for the people :: ly '- -• ^e 

knoweth all my trials. I do not now regie: that 

I gave my youth to God and the tirime of my life 

to the dessemination of gospel truth. I have 

toiled hard and suffered much, but if I have i ai 

the humble instrument of leading one soul to 

Christ, I am more than paid for all.'' His last 

words were. "Precious Christ." 



Rev. LS"atha>~ Bangs was born in Stratford, 

Conn.. May 2. 1778, and died in Xew York City. 
His last illness was oi six weel-:~ A:r:~i::i 

b time he suffered much, but said. -The pres- 



16 LAST WORDS AND 

ence of Jesus lights up my room. It has lighted 
up the entire way to heaven ; my way is clear. 
Boundless mercy ! Jesus is precious." 

"O love, thou bottomless abyss, 

My sins are swallowed up in thee ; 
Covered is my unrighteousness, 

Nor spot of guilt remains on me." 

"While Jesus' blood through earth and skies, 
Mercy, free boundless mercy cries." 

" It is all of mercy! Oh, yes, with Wesley I 
can say, "I am damned ; but Jesus died and lives 
again. Because he lives I shall live also." Every 
night when "I lay me down" these words come 
sweetly, — 

"Jesus protects, my fears begone, 

What can the Rock of Ages more ? 
Safe in their arms I lay me down, 

Thine everlasting arms of love." 

Rev. James H. Bristow was born in Clark 

County, Ky., July 26, 1813, and died •. 

Struck with paratysis, he said, "I know whom 
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able 
to keep that which I have committed to him 
against that day. Glory to God ! I am a sinner 
saved by grace; and because Jesus died for me 
and rose again from the dead, I expect to live with 
him in the heavenly mansions. He loves me, and 
keeps me near his precious side. His precious 
blood is my only plea. Tell my brethren of the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 17 

Kentucky Conference I desire to meet them in 
heaven. The gospel I have preached to others 
sustains me now. I stand on the Rock immortal 
and eternal, and have a bright assurance of eternal 
glory." 

Rev. Henry Boehm was born in Pennsylvania, 
June 8, 1775, and died December 28, 1875, aged 
100 years, 6 months, and 21 days. He preached 
in the Methodist Episcopal church for three 
quarters of a century. His last utterances were, 
"I have left it all with the Lord. Precious 
Jesus." He died at sunset. He closed his Bible ; 
he closed the century of his own and the nation's 
life ; the centenarian of American Methodism. 

Rev. John Baer was born in Virginia, October 
9, 1794, and died in Baltimore, March 11, 1879. 
He sent a telegram to conference, saying, " Still 
in great pain, and no better, but strong in faith, 
giving glory to God. 1 send response to your 
kind greetings. Brethren, be perfect, be of good 
comfort, live in peace, and the God of love and 
peace be with you." 

Rev. Gortlich Brasse was born in the King- 
dom of Prussia, Xovember 8, 1833, and died June 
3, 1876. " When it shall please the Lord to call 
me, I am ready to die. My soul is happy in God. 
Oh, how happy ! Oh, how blessed !" 



18 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. William R. Brown was born near Amster- 
dam, New York, March 7, 1828 ; died June 8, 
1871, aged forty-three years. The closing hours 
of his life were hours of glorious triumph. On 
the day preceding his death, with eager eyes 
he looked heavenward, and with a smile said, 
"My heavenly home ! blessed home ! I shall soon 
be there." He then quoted that beautiful passage 
descriptive of heaven : "There shall be no night 
there," etc. " This poor body," he continued, "de- 
formed and scarred by disease, will soon perish ; 
but my soul, washed and made clean in the blood 
of the Lamb, shall live in bliss for evermore." 
And again, only a few hours before he died, he 
said exultingly, " O Jesus, I trust in thee ; I rest 
in thee, my daysman on high, the captain of my 
salvation ! Bless the Lord, my soul !" Then 
he said, "Now let me go home ; let me go home !" 

Rev. James Willis Brown was born in Indiana, 
May 24, 1850, and died March 2, 1874, sweetly 
singing the song, " The evergreen mountain of 
life." " Oh, how I long to be there with Jesus." 
"Almost there ! Good-by." 

Rev. C. Burlinqame, said one, "You can 
not stay long with us." The reply was, "No mat- 
ter, all is well. I am ready to die." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 19 

Eev. Arza Brown was born in Hampton, Mass., 
August 13, 1792 ; joined Ohio Conference in 1824 ; 
died at Evanston, Illinois, August, 1869, in the 
77th year of his age — fifty-three years of Chris- 
tian life; forty-fifth year of his ministry. When- 
ever the name of Jesus was mentioned his face 
would light up and he would exclaim, " Precious 
Jesus ! Glorious heaven !" To his daughter he 
said, "I shall go soon," and then continued, "The 
blessed Savior said, 'If I go away 1 will come 
again and receive you unto myself, that where I 
am there ye may be also.' " "Oh, how blessed it 
will be to be with Christ, to see him as he is, and 
more blessed to be like him. I am already Avait- 
ing the descent of the chariot of the Lord to go 
home to heaven." At the last, with eyes closed 
to earth, reclining upon his pillow, the unveiled 
vision of glory burst upon his gaze, and with a 
strong voice he exclaimed, "Life ! life !" and fell 
asleep in Jesus. 

Eev. John J). Blain was born in Kingston, New 
Jersey, February 24, 1819; died July 12,1872. 
His dying hours were luminous. "I am only 
waiting at the gate. It is all right. My feet are 
on the Rock. I am testing what I have preached 
so long. I am at the crossing ; there is no dark- 
ness." To his brethren of the conference, "Tell 
them Methodism is to be worked, not doctored." 



20 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. T. S. Berry died at Corning, Iowa, April 
10, 1880. As the watchers stood by his bedside, 
Tuesday morning, the 10th inst., about 2 o'clock 
a calm seemed to settle over him, and with a dis- 
tinctness indicating a clear mind, he several times 
repeated, " Hear a prayer ! hear a prayer !" No 
sooner had he offered a supplication than he 
uttered the word "resignation," repeating it sev- 
eral times. " Resignation to what ?" asked one of 
the attendants. The answer came with a broken 
effort, but distinctly," "To the Divine will, what- 
ever that may be." Mr. Berry's prayer had been 
heard, and the great soul of this man of God 
passed up to its reward. 

Rev. Herman Bangs was born in Fairfield, 
Conn., April, 1790, and died November 2, 1869. 
After making arrangements for his funeral, he ex- 
claimed, " I am saved ! I am saved ! !" On being 
asked, "How is your soul now?" he answered, 
" It triumphs." Then raising his voice, he added, 
" God lives in me and I live in God, and I shall 
soon be with him." And again, he said, " I am 
so unworthy ; I see nothing but imperfection in 
myself; but oh, the blood, the atoning blood ! it 
meets my case ;" and then added, " The princi- 
ples I have inculcated stand the test." The last 
sentence he uttered was, " Glory ! his presence is 
with me." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 21 

Rev. Eri Baker died in Berne, Albany County, 
New York, having just entered upon his thirty- 
ninth year. On his death-bed he said, "Oh, how I 
triumph ! I shall soon mount up and walk the 
golden streets. Hallelujah ! I wish the neighbors 
would come in ; I want to show forth the praises 
of God ! Oh, let Jesus be exalted. Did you ever 
believe," he asked his ' wife, " that Christ would 
give me such a victory ? Did you know there 
was so much in religion ? This is no delusion. I 
have followed no cunningly-devised fable. I 
always thought he would give me grace, but never 
expected such a victory. I am right on the verge 
of eternity. All is as clear as a sunbeam. Jesus 
bears me upon his arms. If this be dying, it is a 
pleasure. The gates fly open wide, the abundant- 
entrance I. see. I am no longer in a strait betwixt 
two, but anxious to depart and be with Christ. I 
have got where Cook was when he said, < I would 
not turn my hand over to live/ " 

Rev. David Bartine was born in Winchester 
County, New York, January 26, 1776. To the 
companions of his childhood, in his native place, 
he preached his hrst sermon, from John xiv. 31. 
"Arise, let us go hence" — words strongly indicative 
of his divine call to the work of an itinerant 
minister. Before he died he said to a brother who 
referred to his abundant and protracted labors in 



22 LAST WORDS AND 

the ministry : " I can see nothing in it all 
upon which I would dare to rest the hope of 
salvation ; my trust is altogether in the atonement 
made for me hy my gracious Redeemer." When 
near his end, his affectionate wife asked him if he 
felt the Savior with him. He replied, with evident 
peacefulness and satisfaction, " He is with me ; I 
fear no evil." Expressions of entire confidence in 
God, and of his sweet conviction of the safety of 
his state, frequently escaped his lips; and just as 
the lamp of his life was going out, he looked 
around on those present with a smile, and said, 
"farewell." Then, folding his hands upon his 
breast and closing his eyes, he breathed out in the 
language of Simon, u Now, Lord, lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen 
thy salvation," and sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. 
Thus died our venerable Father Bartine, on the 
26th day of April, 1850, in the eighty-second year 
of his pilgrimage, and the fifty-eighth of his 
ministry. 

IIev. Oliver Eldridge Brown was born in 
Huntington, L. I., in 1813. On the day preceding 
his death he said, " My peace was made with Ood 
while I was in health ; I have not that work to 
attend to on a sick-bed. I can now say, the will 
of the Lord be done." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 23 

Rev. William Beckley, one of the senior mem- 
bers of Union Church, Cincinnati, died in great 
peace February 10, 1880, aged sixty-two years. 
He was born in Alexandria, Va., October 5, 1817. 
He was favorably known throughout the city of 
Cincinnati as an industrious, shrewd, and capable 
business-man and a good citizen. He was for 
forty-five years a member of the Methodist 
Church, forty of which were spent in New and 
Seventh Street churches of Cincinnati. He was 
baptized and admitted to the church by the Rev. 
Dr. Henry Slicer ; was licensed to exhort by Rev. 
Edward W. Sehon, and as a local preacher by 
Rev. James Harper, of Washington Conference. 
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Scott, Feb- 
ruary, 1869. When dying he said, " I am cling- 
ing to the Rock ; hold on ; let no one come between 
us ;" and fell asleep. 

Rev. Leonard Bowdish was born in New Lis- 
bon, New York, and died at Bainbridge, May 23, 
1870, aged fifty- eight years. At one time he had 
morbid fear of death and the grave, and said, " I 
can not work this through, but the Lord can ; and 
the Lord will do it." At last he said, "The grave 
looks very pleasant to me now ; I am on the Rock, 
and it is rock all the way through." 
" Rocks and storms I'll fear no more." 



24 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. H. P. Blood was born in Buckport, Maine 
February, 1825, and died in Sacramento, Califor- 
nia, February 21, 1874. He was, as he always 
said, "doing little errands for Jesus." After, 
prayer he requested his daughter to play once more 
for him ; and while her skillful fingers slightly 
touched the keys, he shouted, " Glory ! glory !" 
to the immortal Cookman's dying shout,— 

"Sweeping through the gates, 
Washed in the blood of the Lamb." 

His countenance suddenly lighted up with a 
sweet smile as he lifted up both hands toward 
heaven and passed into glory. 

Rev. George S. Barr was born in Quarryville, 
Lancaster County, Pa., December 4, 1832 ; died 
July 1, 1867. The death-scene was very bright. 
" Do you know you are dying now V* " Yes." 
The doctor coming in, he said, " Doctor, I will 
show you how a Christian can die." To his little 
daughter he said, "Adelie, darling, I will show 
you how a Christian can die. While some were 
singing, he said, " Can't we have a shout ; if I had 
the strength I would praise the Lord." His last 
words were, " Alleluiah ! Alleluiah !" 

Rev. Russel Bigelow died in the city of Colum- 
bus, Ohio, July 1, 1835, in the forty-third year of 
his age, and in the twenty-first year of his minis- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. ZO 

try. In March his health began to decline, and he 
wa3 appointed chaplain of the Ohio Penitentiary. 
In the midst of £reat bodilv sufferings he was 
patient and resigned. His closing hour was a 
complete victory. Just as he was departing he 
exclaimed aloud, " Glory to God V 3 In point of 
natural strength of intellect, he had few equals 
aniODg his peers. 

Rev. Frederick B. Butler was born July 22, 
1803, in Prince George County, Va. Iu the twen- 
ty-second year of his age, under the ministry of 
Kev. Russel Bi^elow, he was awakened and con- 
verted. Filled with love to God, and moved by 
the Holy Ghost, he gave himself wholly to the 
work of the ministry, and was admitted on trial 
by the Ohio Conference, at its session in 1827. As 
his end drew near his sufferings, though severe, 
were borne with great meekness and patience. To 
a friend who asked him how he was, he replied, 
" As it respects my body, you see that it is fast 
sinking, and will soon be housed in the torn]? ; but 
as respects the state of my mind, all seems to be 
about right. My faith is the same — my hope 13 
the same — my love is the same — my prospect is 
clear ; and whether you see me die or not, when 
I am gone you may know it is well.*'* In this 
happy frame he continued until he sweely fell 
asleep in Jesus. 



26 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Charles R. Baldwin was born in Stock- 
bridge, Mass., Marcb 19, 1803, and died at Park- 
ersburgh, West Virginia. " I pray God that I 
may die at my post as an itinerant. Come what 
will, I can never locate. The thought of dying 
does not distress me to-day ; God has filled me 
with all his his fullness ; now the world is naught 
to me ; glory be to God !" In such a frame as this 
it would be sweet to die. Later he said, "The 
prospect of death is delightful to my soul ; I feel 
like shouting ; glory to God. Not a cloud between 
my soul and heaven. Glory be to the Lord ! 
Glory ! Glory !" He requested Rev. J. B. Austin 
to preach his funeral, and to tell the people of the 
great blessing of sanctification, " Tell them death 
has no sting. Tell the preachers of the Ohio Con- 
ference that the blessing of salification which 
I have enjoyed for five years, and preached, sus- 
tains me now." 

Rev. Stephen D. Brown, of the New York Con- 
ference, died in New York, February 19, 1875, 
aged fifty-nine years. When his last sickness 
came he seemed ambitious to live for yet greater 
usefulness; and when informed that his sickness 
was fatal he said, "I had not thought that my life- 
work was so nearly done ; but if it is God's will 
it is all right. I have been preparing for this hour 
for many years." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 27 

Rev. Samuel Bibbins " fell asleep" in Christ on 
the 6th of January, 1880, at his residence in Bru- 
tus, N. Y., in the sixty-eight year of his age. 
This venerable servant of God and the church, 
has for the last fifty years been known as a very 
devoted and successful minister of the Lord Jesus. 
Soon after the close of conference his health began 
more perceptibly and rapidly to decline, and it 
soon became evident to his friends, and no less so 
to himself, that he was fast approaching the end 
of his earthly pilgrimage. This, however, gave 
him no concern; for his work was done, and the 
faithful servant was ready for his reward. The 
following are among the expressions which drop- 
ped from his lips a day or two before his death : 
" The storm of life has at length blown over ! The 
last tornado has passed by ! The victory is gained, 
and heaven is mine ! Sweet heaven of rest, it is 
mine! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! My life has 
been spent these fifty years past in the ministry ; 
but I do not regret it. All my sufferings in that 
laborious employment will render the heaven of 
eternal rest the sweeter." And on a subsequent 
occasion, when alluding to the abodes of the 
blessed above, he said, " There I shall see Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob. There I shall see the 
apostles and martyrs and confessors. There I 
shall see Wesley and Fletcher, and other kindred 



28 LAST WORDS AND 

spirits who have entered into rest. And best and 
most of all, there I shall see Je3us." On the day 
before he died a number of his ministerial breth- 
ren assembled around his bed, and with him cel- 
ebrated the Holy Eucharist. On this solemn 
occasion, his was the language of peace and of 
triumph. " I am not yet in the grave, nor am I 
yet in heaven," said he. " I am still in the body, 
and still exposed to the temptations of the adver- 
sary. But as it regards that scripture, ' Look unto 
me, and be ye saved,'" he uttered with emphasis 
" I am saved." Just before he departed he said 
to a friend, "I have always expected to have a 
reasonable degree of comfort in my dying hour, 
but I never expected to enjoy such a deep, settled 
calm as I now feel." 

Rev. Simon L. Booker was born in Stevensburg, 
Frederick County, Va., and embraced religion in 
1817. Soon after his conversion he went to the 
West, and in 1821 was received on trial by the 
Kentucky Conference, and appointed to Green 
River Circuit, and finished his course in August, 
1829. A short time before he expired he re- 
marked, " I want a conductor to heaven," and a 
moment after triumphantly exclaimed, " I have 
one — a sublime one !" and without a struggle 
leaned his head on Jesus' bosom and breathed his 
life out sweetly there. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 29 

Rev. Isaac Be all was born in Ohio, September 
18,1823; died in Fairfield, Greene County, Ohio, 
October 27, 1860, aged thirty-seven years. On 
being visited by a brother minister he said, "I 
am lonely here; yet not alone, for Jesus is with 
me all the time, and I shall soon be with him for- 
ever. Tell my brethren of the Cincinnati Confer- 
ence, death has lost his sting and the grave its 
gloom. I shall fall into the arms of Jesus." He 
then asked me to sing,— 

" Jesus, lover of my soul," etc. 

"I have attended my last conference, but I shall 
meet you all in heaven. I am glad that I gave 
myself to the work of the ministry. I have a 
peculiar love for itinerant Methodist preachers. I 
shall soon be transferred to the conference above." 
He asked for his watch, and looked at it every few 
moments. He then returned it to his wife, gave her 
his parting blessing, and died in great peace. 

Key. Jonathan Bridge, of the ]S"ew England 
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A 
few days before his death he wrote in pencil- 
marks a message to his brethren* in which he said, 
"The attonement is my great and glorious hiding- 
place." And a few moments before he died he 
whispered, "I never felt better in my life than 
now." 



30 LAST WORDS AND 

Kev. James Madison Bryan was born in slavery, 
at E"ew Berne, North Carolina, and died January 
2, 1876, in Louisiana. He prayed aloud, saying, 
"O Lord, I have lived here long enough; my 
work is done; my strength is gone; I have en- 
joyed and suffered much ; now be pleased to take 
me up to live with thee forever." And then he said, 
" My son, Cornelius, go down to St. James, wind 
up the business, and get my reports ready for con- 
ference. I shall not be alive when you get back; 
but meet me in heaven. My dear wife, my hour 
has come, and I am glad ; my suffering will soon 
be over." He then closed his eyes and said, "My 
way is clear ; there is no veil between me and my 
God ; heaven is in sight ; I am now passing over 
Jordan;" and with folded hands on his bosom he 
entered heaven. 

Rev. Jabez Bunting, D. D., was born at Man- 
chester, May 13, 1779, and died June 16, 1858. He 
was converted when about sixteen years of age. 
To Jabez Bunting is the Wesleyan Missionary 
Society indebted for its organization. His last 
years were spent in great suffering. His feelings 
were depressed, but his faith prevailed. He was 
heard to say, " Perfect peace;" and his very last 
words were, " Victory, victory through the blood 
of the Lamb !" 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 31 

Rev. David Brown was born in February, 1760, 
in the County of Down, Ireland ; came from thence, 
recommended as a local preacher, entered the 
itinerant connection in 1794, and finished his 
course on the 5th of September, 1803. There have 
been few, even among the best of men, who have 
lived so generally beloved, and died so regretted as 
this holy man. His unaffected piety commanded 
esteem. Discord fied before him, for the God of 
peace was with him, and a uniting harmony 
brooded over the face of the circuit. His last 
words were, " The Lord's will be done ; my anchor 
is cast within the veil." He died at Ash Grove, on 
Cambridge Circuit, in the forty-fourth year of his 



Rev. Thomas Baker was born in Monongalia 
County, Va., on the 6th of December, 1808. He 
became a subject of converting grace on the 20th 
of March, 1828. Soon after his conversion he felt 
it to be his duty to call sinners to repentance, and 
was licensed to preach the gospel, in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, in July, 1832. In 1845 he 
ended his ministerial and earthly career. For this 
event, however, he felt himself prepared. His 
language was, " I am safe. Whichever way it 
may terminate, I feel that I am safe. If I am 
called away now, God will take me to himself." 
On several occasions, as he advanced toward life's 



32 LAST WORDS AND 

closing scene, he became exceedingly happy, call- 
ing upon those around him to unite in singing the 
praises of God. At one time on being asked what 
he wished to have sung, he replied, " Sing any- 
thing ; but sing about Jesus in heaven." A short 
time before his spirit took its flight he said, "Oh, 
what a sight of heaven have I had ! My soul is 
so happy, my poor body can hardly contain it." 
Thus passed away our beloved brother, on the 4th 
day of April, 1845. 

Rev. Stephen Beekman Bangs, son of Rev. 
Heman Bangs. He was converted in his thirteenth 
year; died March 20, 1846. The closing scene of 
his life was marked by the presence and power of 
God. Seeing the light of the evening sun, which 
fell upon the wall before him, he said, "The sun 
is setting; mine is rising." In a moment he said, 
"I go from this bed to a crown." Then folding 
his arms across his breast, his last words were, 
"Now I am going to glory." 

Rev. S. J. Brockunier was born in Pennsylvania 
June 12, 1795, and died in Bloomingdale, Ohio, 
July 22, 1867. When near his end and gasping 
for breath he said, "Soon will the toilsome strife 
be o'er," etc. To one he said, "My district, my 
circuit, and my station are reduced to the narrow 
compass of an old arm-chair, but through all my 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 33 

afflictions my trust has been in the 'Rock of 
Ages.' ,: In ecstacy he cried out, " Thoughts of 
heaven, the sun-bright clime; yes, yes, home, 
home, home ; that is the joy that is the triumph, 
to rind all in heaven." Grand old warrior, how 
well he fell asleep. 

" Like some grand river widening to the sea, 
Calmly, silently, and deep, life joined eternity." 

Eev. Philip Bruce, a Methodist Episcopal min- 
ister, was born in North Carolina — a descendant of 
the Huguenots, and a soldier of the Revolution. 
He died in Giles County, Tenn., May 10, 1826. 
Xear the close of his life he said, "Indeed, my 
work is well-nigh done, and I am waiting in 
glorious expectation for my change." At the 
time of his death he was the oldest traveling 
preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, ex- 
cept Freeborn Garrettson. 

Rev. Thomas Budd, a native of Xew Mills, Bur- 
lington County, Xew Jersey, was born February 
19, 1783, and about the year 1800 was converted 
to God and attached himself to the Methodist 
Church. He was received as a traveling preacher 
at the Philadelphia Conference in 1803. He pos- 
sessed in a large measure the grand principle of 
ministerial oratory — the power of the Holy Ghost. 
His last illness was a coutinued scene of severe 
affliction, great patience, and much Divine conso- 

3 



34 LAST WORDS AND 

lation. With the deepest humility, modesty, and 
triumph, he said, " I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of life." 
He sat in his chair till a few moments before he 
died, and then desired to be laid on the bed. Then 
he desired to be put on his knees, in which posi- 
tion he expired on the 17th day of June, 1810, 
with all that tranquillity and holy triumph which 
the consideration of a life devoted to God, a sense 
of the Divine presence, and a prospect of an 
eternal weight of glory are calculated to inspire. 

o 

Rev. William Capers, D. D., bishop of the 
Methodist Episcopal church (South), was born in 
South Carolina, January 26, 1790, and died in 
Anderson, South Carolina, January 29, 1855. A 
great and good man. He was seized suddenly 
with a death-chill, in which he was held three 
hours. He asked for the hour, and when in- 
formed, said, "What, only three hours since I 
have been suffering such torture ? Only three 
hours. What must be the voice of the bird that 
cries, 'eternity!' ' eternity!' Three hours have 
taken away all but my religion." Precious testi- 
mony to the power of Christianity. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 35 

Kev. Davis W. Clark, one of the bishops of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born on the 
island of Mt. Desert, off' the coast of Maine, 
February 25, 1812, and died in Cincinnati, May 
23, 1871. His career as an educator, pastor, editor, 
author, and bishop, in our Church is well known. 
His efficiency in each department that he was 
called to fill, his arduous labors, his fidelity to 
duty, have left a lasting impression on the church 
he loved, and to which he had consecrated all 
all his efforts. His zeal for the house of the Lord 
eat him up, and at the early age of fifty-nine he 
passed from the midst of his labors to his reward. 
During hie final illness many precious expressions, 
consoling and encouraging, fell from his lips. The 
chamber where he met his fate seemed indeed 
"close on the verge of heaven." When his 
strength was greatly reduced he said, "What a 
strange outcome of life this seems to me; and yet, 
no stranger than it may be to any of you. I 
would have been glad to work more for the church 
if God had seen best to spare me. God sees not 
as man seeth." And then he repeated many times, 
"God is my refuge and strength, a very present 
help in time of trouble." At another time he 
said to his wife, "I don't want you to be troubled 
about me; rejoice and give thanks. It will all be 
well. I shall depart and be with Jesus, which is 



36 LAST WORDS AND 

far better." On the 19th of May, when sight and 
hearing were apparently gone, he put out his hand 
to the members of his family gathered around 
him, and the tears rolling down his cheeks, im- 
printed a kiss upon the lips of each one — a mute, 
but eloquent farewell. Just at twilight he sud- 
denly aroused, and though he had not spoken 
more than a sentence for nearly two days, he said 
feebly but distinctly, " Tireless company — tireless 
song." He paused for a moment and then added, 
"The song of the angels is a glorious song. It 
thrills my ears even now." Pausing again, he 
spoke with renewed strength, "I am going to join 
the angels' song. Glorious God! blessed Savior! 
bless the Lord, my soul ! bless the Lord, 
my soul !" and sunk into an unconscious state, 
from which he never roused until the glad mes- 
senger came to usher him into the presence of his 
Lord, who had been the strength of his life, and 
was his support in death. So fell asleep one of 
the best-rounded characters, one of the most un- 
tiring, energetic, and wise workers American 
Methodism has ever produced. 

Rev. Moses Crume died at his own residence, in 
Oxford, Ohio, April 1, 1839, in the seventy-third 
year of his age, after a most painful illness of 
three hours. Brother Crume was a native of Vir- 
ginia. He embraced religion in 1787, at which 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 37 

time he united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and was licensed to preach in 1791. The 
field of his early labors was in Kentucky, where 
he united with the first Methodist preachers in 
proclaiming the gospel of the ever-blessed God. 
In 1805 Bro. Crume removed to Ohio, west of the 
Great Miami. Iu his house was formed the first 
class on that side of the river ; and on his farm 
was held the first camp-meeting west of Hamilton. 
During the last thirty years of Bro. Crume's life, 
he was a member of the Ohio Conference, and 
labored with great usefulness and acceptance as 
long as his health would permit him to travel. 
When worn down with labors and infirmities, and 
no longer able to go forth in the field, like the 
faithful and well-trained ox, he would stand with 
his head to the yoke. The Sabbath before he died, 
he pointed a deeply-interested congregation to the 
Lamb of God as the only hope of a perishing 
world ; and it was remarked by his friends who 
had long sat under his ministry that he was more 
heavenly and spiritual than usual. On the morn- 
ing of the day that he closed his earthly existence 
he was led out in prayer in an unusual manner, 
and particularly in behalf of his family. Although 
his death was sudden, he had time to tell his 
friends, more than once, in the dying language of 
the venerable MeKendree, "All is well." 



f 

38 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. H. M. Curry, was born in Adams County, 
Ohio, April 7, 1818, and died in Fletcher, Miami 
County, Ohio, March 3, 1874. He was admitted 
to the Ohio Conference in 1848. With persistent- 
energy he toiled on when he should have rested. 
A short time before his death his mind seemed 
filled with visions of intense delight. The sting of 
death was gone, and before passing into the " heav- 
enlies" he saw and talked with those gone before. 
At one time reaching out his hand he said, "Broth- 
er Joe, how r are you ?" His wife said, " Bro. Gatch 
is not here, he has been dead five years." He re- 
plied, " Oh, no, he is here ; I see him." About five 
minutes before he died he lifted up his right hand, 
and keeping it extended some time said, " O 
Christ, here I am. Wife, we must part. O Lord, 
bless my little children. Lord, bless Morris" — his 
little son, in his tenth year. During his sickness 
he preached a soul-stirring sermon and prayed 
" right before the throne," pronounced the ben- 
benediction, and said, "Oh, blessed heavenly rest 
prepared for me." 

Rev. James Lyons Crane, D. D., was born in 
Ohio, August 30, 1823, and died in Illinois, 1879. 
" It is all right with me ; I have no fear of death ; 
I have trusted in the Savior the greater part of 
my life ; he has never forsaken me, and I know 
he will not forsake me now." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 89 

Rev. George Calluhan was born in the State of 
Maryland, December 27, 1765. In 1775 be settled 
in western Pennsylvania. In 1784 he embraced 
religion, and in 1787 he was admitted on trial as a 
traveling preacher. He traveled two years, and 
preached with great success, in which time he 
had the honor of preaching the first Methodist 
sermon north-west of the Ohio river. Father 
Calluhan was among the first settlers in the west 
part of Licking County, Ohio, where he sustained 
for many years the character of a competent 
school-master, an intelligent justice of the peace, 
an upright Christian, and a very talented local 
preacher. He was a man of deep and protracted 
affliction. His circumstances were low, his family 
was large, and he had the third-day ague for 
seventeen years together; but in all thi3 he "let 
patience have its perfect work," and without com- 
pensation he continued to preach the gospel of 
Christ, with unabated zeal, for about fifty years. 
On the 2d day of February, 1839, he called the 
church together, which had grown up around 
him, and preached to them for the last time from 
II. Cor. xii. 11: "Finally, brethren, farewell." 
From this text he took occasion to teach his old 
friends and children : First. That to " farewell" 
we must do well, and that well-doing will show 
itself, 1. By seeking to be perfect. 2. In super- 



40 LAST WORDS AND 

natural comfort. 3. In the unity of the spirit 
called "one mind." 4. By "living in peace," or 
in fellowship one with another. Secondly. The 
inducement held out in the text : " The God of 
,love and peace shall be with you." The sermon 
w r as short, but it was as a voice from eternity. He 
felt and spoke like an inhabitant of another world. 
In a few days he took sick and felt that his sick- 
ness was unto death ; but his confidence in God 
grew stronger as his end approached. In his last 
struggles he said to his weeping family, "I feel 
that my work is done !" This father in our Israel 
ceased at once to work and live on the 19th day of 
February, 1839, in the seventy-fourth year of his 
age. 

Rev. Benjamin Cooper died at his residence in 
Hancock County, Indiana, May 13, 1846. He was 
born in Perry County, Ohio, June 3, 1802, to 
which his parents removed a short time before his 
birth. When approaching the valley of the 
shadow of death he said, " My confidence is firm. 
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 
He saved me; saved me from sin; saves me now." 
To a young minister he said, " Go, young man, 
and preach Jesus to a lost world." Then lifting 
his eyes to heaven, and his countenance beaming 
with unearthly grandeur, he said, " death, where 
is thy sting?" 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 41 

Rev. Aaron L. Culver was born at Dobbs' 
Ferry, New York, February 19, 1841, and died 
November 11, 1877. At the age of twelve* years 
he was soundly converted at Hart's Corners, New 
York, in a revival-meeting held in a school-house 
by Elijah Davis, of White Plains, and ere long he 
united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. At 
the age of twenty- one we find him attending 
school at Claverack, returning from which place, 
in 1859 or 1860, he united with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church at Sing Sing, New York, where, 
under the ministry of Rev. E. R. Keyes, he 
evinced such ability as a speaker and such power 
in exhortation that he was licensed to preach. 
Well did he say to the writer, "But for my tender, 
loving, watchful wife, I would have died long 
ago." He died in the house where their wedding 
reception was given, and his body at last lay be- 
fore the same altar at which he stood a happy 
bridegroom twelve years before. Brother Culver 
was a man of marked ability, both natural and 
acquired. His was a philosopic mind, " searching 
the deep things of God," a most retentive memory, 
and a warm, loving heart. Opposites in his char- 
acter rendered him utterly unlike other men. In 
the pulpit he was bold as a lion ; out of it, reticent 
and timid as a child. When chided for his 
timidity he would say, " I am in good company. 



42 LAST WORDS AND 

Moses took a back seat, and David was least of 
the shepherds of Bethlehem." To strangers he 
appeared cold, reserved, and almost reclusive; to 
those who knew him, genial, mirthful, and con- 
fiding. He was a thorough student, a master in 
science, history, and theology. As a preacher, he 
was clear, polished, and at times overwhelmingly 
magnetic; as a result, scores and hundreds were 
led to the cross through his ministry. In sermon- 
izing he ever had an eye to immediate results. 
Brother Culver was mighty in prayer. We can not 
forget the hour at Poughkeepsie when he cried, 
"Lord, drive the devil out! out!! out!!!" and 
scoffers fled from the church, pale and trembling, 
and where a work of grace broke out that night 
which never ceased until one hundred souls were 
" born again ;" nor can we fail to remember that 
morning petition at Cold Spring for the healing 
of Mrs. Dalzell, who mended from that hour, 
though for fourteen months she had not left her 
bed ; nor that plea to Heaven which once made his 
study at Poughkeepsie a transfiguration mount, 
when some lay like dead men. Brother Culver 
was never in robust health. In the fall of 1876 
he preached his last sermon to his weeping people 
at Cold Spring. He was weak and pale. His text 
was, "If ye loved me ye would rejoice, because I 
said unto you, I go unto my Father." A fitting 



\: -TIME MEMORIES. 

^re for one who stood with one foot on the 
the earth and the other on the step of the chariot, 
about to enter it and mount the skies. In De- 
pembe 187C : ■ :- from Columbia. S. C, 

where he had gone :: spend the winter: ; -I have 
but little ecstacy, it great peace; my Patmos 
consists in being touched by Him who hath said, 

i not. I am the first an 3 the last.' " After re- 
turning from the South he failed rapidly, but was 
ever triumphant in Christ. He said, "After an 
experience of twenty-fonr years, the atonement :: 
the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient. He saves me. 
there is no question about that. I realize the 
truth of the words, 'Kept by the power of God, 
through faith, unto salvation.' n On Sunday even- 
ing. October 11th, he rounded the cape, dropped 
the anchor, and so a world, heretofore anient and 
formless, burst upon his vision, yea, doubtless, 
streets of gold, and a sea of glass, on which the 
harpers stand, stretched away in the distance, 
while crowding down to the river's brink and 
standing upon the pearly beach were his already 
glorified children, his translated brothers and 
sisters, and Professor Martin, with harp in hand, 
and th - 1 with the sainted AVakely, welcomed him 
to the li house not made with hands." 

*• Mortals cried, a man is dead ! 
Angels sar, a child is born," 



44 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. John Collins was a native of New Jersey, 
and was brought up in the faith of the Society of 
Friends. His conversion to G-od was through the 
instrumentality of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church; and through his influence nearly, if not 
entirely, all his father's family were brought to 
God. He was licensed to preach as a local 
preacher in his native state, where he soon became 
a bright and shining light. He traveled exten- 
sively to sow the precions seed of the kingdom 
through west Jersey ; and great was the increase 
God gave to the word of his servant. In the year 
1804 Brother Collins removed to Ohio, purchased 
land, and settled on the Horse-Shoe Bottom, in 
Clermont County, twenty miles above Cincinnati. 
In 1807 he entered the Western Conference, when 
live circuits, namely, Miami, Mad River, Scioto, 
Hockhocking, and Muskingum, embraced the en- 
tire territory of the then settled parts of Ohio. 
His first circuit was Miami, and his first colleague 
was Rev. Benjamin Lakin. Bro. Collins' next 
appointment was in charge of Scioto Circuit, 
where God gave witness to the word of his grace, 
and many accessions to the church. In 1813 
he traveled Limestone Circuit, in Kentucky. 
In 1818 we find him on the Scioto District, where 
he remained as presiding elder for three years. 
In 1821 Bro. Collins was appointed in charge of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 45 

Cincinnati Station, where he was returned in 1822. 
In 1834 he was stationed in Cincinnati, in 1835 
on New Richmond Circuit, and in 1836 on White 
Oak Circuit. Here Bro. Collins closed his itinerant 
life. His health had so far declined that he was 
compelled to take a superannuated relation, which 
he held until his death, which took place August 
21, 1845, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, 
having worn himself out in the work. The last 
moments of this man of God were truly interest- 
ing. His death was as peaceful as his long life 
was pious. His setting sun was without a cloud. 
His last words were, "Happy ! happy !" 

Rev. George A. Campbell was born in Balti- 
more Hundred, Delaware, September 3, 1846, and 
died in Frankford, Delaware, September 7, 1876. 
To a friend he said, "Death will not surprise me 
at all ; I am fully ready ; there is not a shadow of 
doubt in my way. Tell my brethren in the min- 
istry to live and die for Christ, and not to fail to 
meet me in heaven. Language can not express 
what I enjoy. Glory to God ! Oh, if I could stand 
and had the voice, I would proclaim to the ends 
of the earth, * Come, poor sinners, come to Jesus.' " 

Rev. Coles Carpenter, of the Troy Conference, 
died February 17, 1834. His dying-words were, 
" Glory ! glory ! glory !" 



46 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Asbury Caldwell was a native of Paris, 
Maine. Being converted to God in early life, and 
furnishing satisfactory evidence of a divine call 
to the ministry, he entered the traveling connec- 
tion in 1832, and continued an approved member 
of the Maine Annual Conference till his death. He 
died a martyr to his work. His heart was formed 
for friendship, and expanded with benevolence; 
his religious feelings were eminently catholic, cor- 
dially embracing all who love our Lord Jesus 
Christ. He lived a witness of entire salification. 
He was an able and successful minister of the 
New Testament, and few were ever favored with 
more ecstatic views upon the bed of death. 

Rev. Alexander Clark was born in Jefferson 
County, Ohio, March 10, 1834, and died at At- 
anta, Georgia, at the residence of Gov. Colquitt, 
July 6, 1879. He had a national reputation as a 
man of fine literary taste, and marked ability as 
writer, preacher, and lecturer. At the time of his 
death he was editor of the Methodist Recorder, at 
Pittsburgh, Pa. He was taken sick while travel- 
ing in the South, but amid all his sufferings he 
was calm and resigned. A short time before his 
death he sent the following message to his friends 
in North Carolina : "Say to them I love them. 
Tell them I am patient, trying to get toward 
home, and that my love for the Savior abounds 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 47 

more and more. I have been very ill, but am 
better, though still weak. The doctor says I must 
not talk. I have been at death's door, but right 
in the gate of heaven." He spoke of the valley 
of the shadow of death, adding, " I know it, for I 
have been there." He then spoke of how good 
the Lord had been to him, and how much he had 
blessed him. Our dear brother has finished his 
course ; the conflict is ended, the victory is won. 



"Rest, weary head ! 
Lie down to slumber in thy peaceful tomb ; 
Light from above has broken through the gloom ; 
Here, in the place where once the Savior lay, 
Where he shall wake thee on a future day, 
Like a tired child upon its mother's breast, 

Rest, sweetly rest. 

" Rest, freed spirit ! 
In the green pastures of the heavenly shore, 
Where sin and sorrow can approach no more, 
With all the flock by the Good Shepherd fed, 
Beside the streams of life eternal led, 
Forever with thy God and Savior blest, 

Rest, sweetly rest !" 

Rev. Aaron Conner was born in Indiana, May 
22, 1822, and died September 28, 1878. When 
going heavenward he said, "Happy if with my 
last breath I may but gasp his name," and then 
added, " It grows dark here— but it is light ahead. 
Praise ! praise !" 



48 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Andrew J. Crandall was transferred from 
the Oneida to the Missouri Conference in the 
spring of 1848. He was taken sick a few days 
before the session of conference in 1849, in St. 
Louis, and was able to be present with his breth- 
ren only an hour or two. At the close of the 
conference we had good hope that in answer to 
many prayers, by the blessing of God, his useful 
life would be spared. But God saw best to re- 
move him to a higher sphere in a few days after 
conference closed. A short time before he 
breathed his last he preached a short sermon, and 
gave out and sung the doxology, — 

" Praise God, from whom all blessing flow, 
Praise him, all creatures here below, 
Praise him above, ye heavenly host, 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," — 

And then said, "Brother, dismiss, or I will." 
Pausing a moment, he said, " The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the com- 
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. 
Amen," and fell asleep. 

Rev. David Corey was born in 1797, and was 
converted to God in 1814. Shortly after he joined 
the church he was licensed to exhort, and soon 
afterward to preach. A member of the confer- 
ence says, "I visited him a number of times dur- 
ing his last illness, and always found hi in strong in 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 49 

faith, giving glory to God. At one time I said to 
him, <Bro. Corey, have you your friend with you 
now?' Tears of holy joy flowed down his cheeks. 
He said, * My feelings are indiscribable. The Lord 
is my friend ; he sustains me now !' A short time 
before he breathed his last he desired to be raised 
up in the bed, and addressing himself to an un- 
converted friend, said, < There is a divine reality in 
religion. I am a dying man, and will not lie V 
He pressed his friend, with all his remaining 
strength, to fly to the Lord Jesus, and prepare for 
death. It made a deep impressiou. A few 
minutes before he died, he shouted, ' Oh, glory to 
God! 7 and soon fell asleep in the arms of Jesus," 
on the 23d of August, 1844. 

Eev. George Coles was born in Stewkley, En- 
gland, June 2, 1792 ; died in New York, May 1, 
1858. Two weeks before his death he said, 
" Death does not seem so very dreadful as for- 
merly." An hour before he died he requested the 
family to pray for his departure. During the 
prayer he responded with deep feeling, and at the 
close, raising his hand, exclaimed : "Hark !" as if 
some heavenly voice saluted his ear. He then 
leaned back in his chair and fell asleep in 
Jesus. 



50 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. "William Burr Christie was born in 
"Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio, September 
2, 1803, and died in Cincinnati, March 26, 1842. 
Among the numerous incidents indicating the 
state of his mind during the last hours of his 
earthly existence, only a few will be recited. 
Saturday morning, a little after midnight, he re- 
quested a brother who was sitting with him to 
call Dr. Wright, who came in and found him 
sinking rapidly. He asked Bro. C. if he felt 
worse ? His reply was, that he had great difficulty 
of breathing. After some means of temporary 
relief had been administered he asked the doctor, 
" What does this mean ?" In reply, the doctor in- 
quired if he would like to see some of his friends? 
Bro. C. then said, " Why do you ask the question? 
Do you think I am pretty near home ?" On being 
informed that he was undoubtedly worse, he 
looked round upon his wife and friends, calm and 
collected, and said, "I am not alarmed. I am not 
afraid to die." Extending and looking at his 
hands he remarked, "Jesus, with his bleeding 
hands, will not thrust me away." Next he took his 
two little sons, embraced them, and commended 
them to God. Soon alter this Bro. Sehon entered 
his room, to whom he said, "Bro. Sehon, I am 
almost home." After exchanging a few words 
he requested Bro. S. to pray; and during the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 51 

prayer he appeared to be perfectly happy. This 
over, he beckoned Bro. S. to his bed, and by him 
sent the following message : "Tell my brethren 
at the conference, if they think my name worthy 
of being mentioned, that I have not preached an 
unknown and an unfelt Christ. Tell them that 
though unworthy and unfaithful, that gospel 
which I have preached to others now sustains me. 
Tell the preachers to preach Christ and him cruci- 
fied. Tell them my only hope, my only founda- 
tion, is in the blood of sprinkling. Precious 
blood ! Oh, the fullness, the sweetness, the richness 
of that fountain !" After praising God for some 
time he turned his eyes on his weeping companion 
and made some reference to his temporalities, but 
instantly observed that they were small matters, 
little things; assuring her that God would pro- 
vide for her and his little children. About two 
o'clock Bishop Morris arrived, and found him 
bolstered up in his bed, much exhausted. He, 
however, reached out his hand, and said dis- 
tinctly, "I am almost home. I feel that God is 
good to me, and that Jesus Christ is my salva- 
tion. Jesus is precious." When unable to artic- 
ulate, he often lifted his cold hand in token of 
victory ; and again, as though anxious to make us 
understand his meaning, he raised his hand high 
above his head and waved it in triumph. After 



52 LAST WORDS AND 

some time, he raised both hands at once and ex- 
tended them before him as if just rising on "the 
wings of love and arms of faith," and then, in 
an animated manner, brought them together, 
triumphing over death, his last enemy. At that 
time we supposed he would speak no more; for 
when his companion desired to hear his voice once 
more on earth, he could only look at her and point 
his finger toward heaven. However, not long be- 
fore his exit he raised his hand high, and Bro. 
S. asked him if he wanted anything? He shook 
his head. Bro. S. then asked him if it was power 
and glory? His countenance brightened up, while 
he nodded his head affirmatively ; and his strength 
returning to him, he shouted aloud, clapping his 
hands and giving glory to God. The same pecul- 
iarity of manner, form of expression, and even 
gesture, which marked his pulpit and altar per- 
formances, were strikingly exhibited in his closing 
scene. To the last he seemed to be conscious and 
triumphant. About seven o'clock, Saturday 
morning, March 26, 1842, without* a sigh or 
groan, his deathless spirit passed in peace and 
triumph from earth, to appear before the presence 
of God with exceeding joy. 

Rev. John Crane was born in 1787, at a station 
called Eatons Station, about two miles below 
Nashville, Tenn. At six years of age he appeared 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 53 

to be under the influence of religious impressions. 
At twelve years of age he was one of the subjects 
of the great revival at Cumberland, at which time 
he experienced a clear manifestation of the love of 
God in the pardon of his sins. He was certainly 
among the most remarkable youths of his age ; for 
when only twelve years old he frequently exhorted 
the people of his acquaintance, and others, to turn 
to God and seek the salvation of their souls — and 
with no small eiiect, for the tears were frequently 
seen to start from their eyes while this amiable 
boy was (like young Samuel) speaking for the 
Lord. At the age of twenty he was admitted on 
trial in the traveling connection. Not long before 
he expired he died away, and it was thought his 
spirit had fled; but in a little time he revived, and 
cried out, "What hath brought me back ? I have 
been on the very margin of heaven." About three 
hours before he left the world his father arrived. 
He said, u O father, I love you ; but I have a Father 
in the kingdom of heaven ; I shall soon be with 
him. I have not a doubt of my acceptance with 
God. My body will soon be laid low in the dust; 
but this mortal shall put on immortality." 

Rev. Abner Clark, a young man of an amiable 
disposition, was born in Salem, New Hampshire, 
May 1, 1788. He embraced religion through the 
instrumentality of the Methodist preachers, March 



54 LAST WORDS AND 

3, 1807. About a year after this great and 
glorious change took place in him, he was recom- 
mended to the New England Annual Conference. 
Not long before his death he declared that he had 
the fullest confidence in the truth of that gospel 
which he had preached. " I can lean upon it," 
said he, "for it is the gospel of Christ; it is the 
truth of God; it came from heaven." On the day 
he died some of his friends about his bed informed 
him that they thought he was dying. He replied, 
" The will of the Lord be done." A few moments 
afterward he said, " I am going ! I am going ! 
Blessed be God for victory over sin, the world, and 
the devil. I have gained the victory, and soon ex- 
pect my disembodied spirit will join the band of 
music above, and bear some humble part in prais- 
ing God, and stand with the hundred and forty- 
four thousand on the sea of glass, to sing the song 
of Moses and the Lamb." , After which he added, 
"Mercy and truth have met together, righteous- 
ness and peace have kissed each other," and then 
soon expired without a struggle or a groan. Thus 
ended the useful life of our beloved Bro. Clark, 
February 20, 1814, in the twenty-sixth year of his 
age. 

Rev Jonathan E. Chaplin was born in Chaplin, 
Windham County, Conn., in the year 1789. In 
August, 1834, he was received on trial by the Ohio 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 55 

Conference, and appointed principal of Norwalk 
Seminary. His last illness was a very painful 
one ; his sufferings indeed were most intense ; yet 
did grace so sweetly sustain him that "patience 
had its perfect work." For the most part, his 
mind seemed to be absorbed in the contemplation 
of God. His constant theme was holiness. He 
said to a friend that it was not enough to perform 
all the external duties of religion, we must be 
holy. " Oh !" continued he, "that I could see Bro. 
Stewart, and hear him pronounce that word 
'holiness' with his wonted emphasis. Bro. Fuller, 
we must live holiness." He would sometimes say 
to his beloved companion, "If God should see fit 
to raise me up again to preach the everlasting 
gospel, my God assisting me, I will preach it from 
the heart." When asked, a few hours before he 
expired, how it was with him, his reply was, "All 
is well — all is peace — all is glory. I shall soon be 
with the dear Redeemer." His last audible prayer 
was that "God would convert poor perishing 



Rev. "William Comstock was born in Wayne 
County, Ohio, and died in Indiana, in 1875, in tri- 
umph. He cried out, "Let man be abased, and 
Christ exalted; let the name of Jesus, who saves, 
be honored and magnified." Amen, and amen ! 



56 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Joseph Carson, of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, South, was born in Winchester, Vir- 
ginia, February 19, 1785, and died in Culpepper 
County, Virginia, April 15, 1875, in the ninety- 
first year of his age. 

He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in April, 1801. He was admitted into the Balti- 
more Conference in 1805, at Winchester, Virginia, 
in the house of George A. Reed, where bishops 
Asbury and Whatcoat presided. He was ap- 
pointed junior preacher on the Wyoming Circuit, 
which embraced ail that part of Pennsylvania 
from the western branch of the Susquehanna Riv- 
er to the New York state line — a circuit of four 
hundred miles, with thirty-two appointments. 
Indeed, revivals everywhere attended his ministry. 
He gave to the church seventy-four years of his 
life ; to the ministry seventy-three years. 



Rev. Valentine Cook, an eminent pioneer min- 
ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died in 
1820, in Kentucky. After preaching at a camp- 
meeting, he was struck down with disease. Of 
his religious state he said, "When I think of Je- 
sus and of living with him forever, I am so filled 
with the love of God that I scarcely know whether 
I am in the body or out of the body." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 57 

Rev. William Chandler, M. D., was born June 
22, 1764; converted in 1790; admitted to Phila- 
delphia Conference in 1797. He was truly a great 
man, — physically, mentally, and morally, — of deep 
piety, and a pre-eminent revivalist, a great "camp- 
meeting preacher." The irreligious used to say, 
"If Dr. William Chandler were placed on one end 
of the stand and Rev. Solomon Sharp on the oth- 
er, they could preach the devil himself out of 
hell." 

His death was such a signal triumph that angels 
must have contemplated it with delight. A friend 
being on the way to meeting, stopped in to see 
him. Dr. Chandler asked, "What day is it?" 
On being told that it w r as Sunday, the doctor said, 
"Go, then, to the meeting, and tell them I am 
dying shouting the praises of God." Then, turn- 
ing to his wife, he said, "Open the window, and 
let me proclaim to the people the goodness of 
God," after which he died calmly, aged 58 years. 

Rev. George J. Conner said : "All my hope is 
in Christ; he keeps me every moment. His grace 
is sufficient for me, — my stay, my comfort. I am 
going soon. I am resting on the Rock, — the 
Rock of Ages. I feel secure in the atonement ; 
from this my mind does not waver. I have had 
such a glorious vision of my heavenly home ; but 
I am most impressed with the nearness of it." 



58 LAST WORDS AND 

Nathaniel Pendleton Cunningham was born in 
Pendleton County, Virginia, August 1, 1807. 
He was a man of uniform piety, constant in all 
his duties. Hence the "peace of God that pass- 
eth all understanding" filled his heart on his sick- 
bed; and his death was triumphant. When 
asked in regard to his religious feelings he an- 
swered, "All is peace. Oh, how good the Lord 
is!" A few hours before his death he asked us to 
kneel down; and then he poured forth his soul 
with heavenly fervor and angelic sweetness, pray- 
ing for us all by name. And oh, with what con- 
fidence did he commend Sister Cunningham and 
his little daughter, Virginia, to the "dying Meth- 
odist preacher's God!" Not long after this he 
called Sister Cunningham and Virginia, and his 
niece and sister, to his bedside, and gave them his 
dying instruction and blessing. Never did I hear 
such a blessing pronounced by a living or a dying- 
man. It came up from the depth of his great 
heart with all the simplicity, fervor, melting sym- 
pathy, confidence, and solemnity of look and tone, 
that I have imagined to have characterized the 
blessing of the dying primitive patriarch as he 
uttered, "God Almighty, bless my wife, bless my 
child; take care of them, and keep them unto thy 
heavenly kingdom." He said to me, "I have not 
much to say now; but tell the congregation 



old-time: memories. 59 

that the Bible is true, experimental religion is 
true, God is true and faithful to his promises. I 
tiud him so here on my death-bed ; he is with me 
now. I find the experience of Holy-Ghost relig- 
ion, which I have professed and enjoyed and 
preached in life and health, to be a glorious real- 
ity in sickness and death. Tell them to 'remem- 
ber the words which I have spoken,' the Chris- 
tianity I have preached to them, the doctrines, 
the experience, the holy living — it is God's eter- 
nal truth, more enduring than the everlasting 
hills; it will stand w r hen heaven and earth have 
passed away." 

He charged me with the following message to 
communicate to the conference: '*Tell my breth- 
ren of the annual conference I die at my post. 
My work is done. I loved them much, very 
greatly, indeed, in the Lord. I would willingly 
have toiled and suffered longer; but God has given 
me a full discharge. Oh, I would like to attend 
some one of them, in his labors of love, if I might 
be permitted. How this will be I know not. 
But God is love ; and I am going to the Methodist 
preacher's heaven! Amen." 

Richard Corwixe was born August 29, 1879, 
in Mason County, Ky. His parents being relig- 
ious, he was brought up under religious discipline 
and influence. At the altar of family devotion he 



60 LAST WORDS AND 

received his first religious impressions. He ob- 
tained religion and joined the church in 1809. In 
1817 he was licensed to preach. His Christian 
experience was like a rising tide, to the end of 
life, — then overflowing all its banks. As he ap- 
proached death he had a struggle in giviug up his 
family. But he gained the victory; and when he 
had committed them to the care and protection 
of Heaven, his faith became triumphant, and he 
shouted for joy. In reply to a wish expressed by 
his friends that he might again be enabled to re- 
sume his labors, he said, "I feel like a frail vessel 
that has long been out at sea, and has breasted 
many a storm, but is now safe, in sight of the 
destined and much-desired port. My friends de- 
sire that I should return again. I do not desire 
to return; but the will of the Lord be done." 

Having given his family his dying charge, and 
lifted up his voice in prayer for them for the last 
time, he seemed composed. A friend said to him, 
"I am here." "God is here too." The friend 
said, "The messenger has come." "Sweet mes- 
senger," he said, and spoke no more. He had 
been requested when he could not speak, if he felt 
the Lord was with him, to raise his hand. He 
did so, and then sunk calmly in death. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 61 

Rev. Alfred Cookman was born in Columbia, 
on the Susquehanna River, January 4, 1828, and 
died in Newark, New Jersey, September 13, 
1871. 

His last sermon was preached from the words, 
"We all do fade as a leaf." Returning to his 
home he said to his wife, "I have preached my 
own experience to-night, — -fading as a leaf." His 
Bible was his daily companion in his sickness. 
He would often say, "There is nothing like the 
word of God. Oh, how precious." It was after 
reviving from one of the severe paroxysms to 
which Mr. Cookman was subject, about one week 
from the first attack, that he had what may be 
regarded as a remarkable vision. 

He found himself just inside of heaven. He 
was first received by his grandfather Cookman, 
who said, "When you were in England I took 
great pleasure in showing you the different places 
of interest; now I welcome you to heaven, my 
grandson, washed in the blood of the Lamb." 
He was next received by his father, whose features 
were as distinct as when he saw them in his boy- 
hood days. He also said, "Welcome, my son; 
washed in the blood of the Lamb." 

Then his brother George took him in his arms, 
and said, "Welcome, my brother ; washed in the 
blood of the Lamb." 



62 LAST WORDS AND 

And lastly his son Bruner received him with 
the same salutation, "Welcome, father; w T ashed in 
the blood of the Lamb." 

Each one of these in turn presented him to the 
"throne." When he told his wife of what he 
had seen and heard he said, "That was an 
abundant entrance." She asked him if it was a 
dream. He replied that it was between sleeping 
and waking. 

Saint Stephen is not the last of God's suffering 
and dying servants who have seen heaven opened 
before their entrance into it. 

He now seemed to understand as never before 
the expression, "Perfect or purified through suf- 
fering." He said, "I have for many years known 
what it is to be washed in the blood of the Lamb. 
Now I understand the full meaning of that verse, 
'These are they which came out of great tribula- 
lation, and have washed their robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb.' I used to 
maintain that the blood was sufficient; but I am 
coming to know that tribulation brings us to the 
blood that cleanseth." 

To his mother, "You know the nails pierced 
his precious feet, and he can sympathize with me 
in my sufferings. In all their affliction he was af- 
flicted. To his son Frank, "The effect of this 
sickness is to draw me nearer and nearer to the 
heart of Jesus." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 63 

"I have no painful solicitude in respect to the 
future. To the praise of the divine grace, I hum- 
bly testify that this was taken away long ago. 
'Perfect love casteth out fear.' My faith and hope 
have come back to cheer me with the assurance 
that 'all is well.' " 

Again he said, "The best hours of my illness 
were when the fierce fires of affliction w T ere kin- 
dling and scorching all around me. It has con- 
vinced me that full salvation is the only prepara- 
tion for the ten thousand contingencies that be- 
long to a mortal career. Oh, how soothing to 
feel, hour by hour, that the soul has been washed 
in the blood of the Lamb, and to experience the 
inspiration of that perfect love that casteth out 
all fear that hath torment. These, with other les- 
sons, have been most precious and profitable ; and 
yet I can not but think that my faithful Lord has 
some ulterior meaning in this affliction that is not 
yet fully or satisfactorily revealed. I want to sit 
like little Samuel, and, with a humble and obe- 
dient heart, say, 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
heareth.' 

"Above all, dear mother, I have had the pre- 
cious Jesus with me during every hour of my 
sickness. When my pains were most severe, he 
would let down on my soul such a weight of glory 
that I was obliged to break forth in strains of 



64 LAST WORDS AND 

praise and joy. O precious mother, how invalua- 
ble is full salvation in suffering and in the pros- 
pect of eternity! To feel that the soul is washed 
in the blood of the Lamb, and to realize the per- 
fect love that casteth out all fear that hath tor- 
ment — oh, this is more than all the world beside." 

To his sister he said, the same day, "If I could 
have life on earth by the lifting of my hand, I 
would not. If Jesus should ask me, 'Would you 
live or die?' I would answer, 'I refer it back to 
thee. 

To Rev. Mr. Dunn, in his last interview, he said, 
"I wish that I could tell you how precious Jesus 
has been to me during my sickness. I Lave had 
such views of him as I never had before. Right 
in the midst of my most intense sufferings he has so 
manifested himself to me that I have been lifted 
above them all." He remarked to his wife, "God 
meaus something by this sickness. He is either 
fitting me for greater usefulness here, or for heav- 
en. I am lying passive in his hands, trying to 
learn the lessons he would teach me. I am sitting 
in the hands of the heavenly Artist." To one of 
his official members he used substantially these 
words: "My church is very dear to me; my wife 
and children are very precious; my friends are 
dear to me; but the sweet will of God I love bet- 
ter than all else. I have no choice to live or die. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 65 

God has some design in this sickness. Jesus is 
very precious." Often he would repeat, "Lo, I 
am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world." His mother spent most of Monday with 
him. While she was present he lost the use of 
his hand. He remarked, as he looked at it, "This 
hand seems paralyzed ; but it belongs to Jesus." 
He then repeated part of the hymn, 

" God moves in a mysterious way." 

His mother said, "I feel it a privilege, Alfred, 
to be in this room. There is such a divine in- 
fluence; it seems like the gate of heaven." He 
responded, "Yes, there are heavenly visitants 
here." About five o'clock she left him, to return 
to her home in New York, not supposing him to 
be near death. As she was kissing him good-by 
he held her hand, and gazing into her eyes he 
said, "Next to Jesus, mother, I owe everything to 
you. Your holy influence, your godly example, 
your wise counsels have made me the Christian 
and minister that I am." To his brother John he 
said, "John, you have been a mercy to me. Mercy 
is written on your brow. My friends are all a 
mercy to me. I am not afraid to die. Death is the 
gate to endless glory. I am washed in the blood 
of the Lamb." He desired to see his sister-in-law, 
Mrs. Rebecca Bruner, to whom he said, "This is 
the sickest day of my life ; but all is well. I am 



qq LAST WORDS AND 

so glad I preached full salvation. What would I 
do with out it now? If you forget everything 
else, remember my testimony — washed in the 
blood of the Lamb. Jesus is drawing me closer 
and closer to his great heart of infinite love." To 
his wife he said, "I am Christ's little infant. Just 
as you fold your little babe to your bosom, so I 
am nestled close to the heart of J esus." 

To his son George he said, "My son, your pa 
has been all day long sweeping close by the gates of 
death" 

At his request he was removed to the other side 
of the bed, when he remarked, "How sweet and 
quiet everything seems; I feel like resting now." 
Very soon he became insensible to outward things ; 
and within about four hours, at eleven p. m., sur- 
rounded by his family and the trustees of his 
church, he died, sweeping through the gates of 
paradise, washed in the blood of the Lamb. 

Thus passed to the bosom of God, in the prime 
of his life, one of the most saintly, earnest, and 
useful men of modern times. 



Rev. John Dillon was born near Zanesville, 
Ohio, October 27, 1815, and died at McArthur, 
August 26, 1876. "I have the advantage of the 
Lord ; for I trust in him, and he can not do any- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 67 

thing with me that will not be for my good. Pray 
that mv faith may hold out; that I may not be 
overcome with fear when I draw near the awful 
majesty and glory of God." At midnight he said, 
"Let me go. Farewell ! farewell ! " 

Rev. John Price Dubbin, D. D., was born m 
Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1800. He was 
converted in his eighteenth year, and joined the 
Methodist Church. In one week afterward he 
was licensed to preach, and was sent to supply a 
circuit. He was from the first noted for hi3 
thrilling eloquence. His style was very vehement, 
which soon injured his voice and impaired hi3 
general health. But with care in speaking his 
voice was restored in six months, so that he could 
be heard again by large congregations, although 
his style of delivery afterward became conversa- 
tional. In 1820 he joined the Ohio Conference, and 
traveled a circuit of two hundred miles in extent. 
He was a great student, and, like Wesley, read his 
books on horseback by day, and studied at night 
in the log-cabins where he lodged, by pine-knots 
thrown upon the fire. His large circuit included 
within its territory the Miami University, at Ox- 
ford. During the week-days Dr. Durbin attended 
this college, and commenced the study of ancient 
languages. He subsequently attended the Cin- 



68 LAST WORDS AND 

cinnati College, and was admitted to the degree 
of Master of Arts. In 1826 he was elected pro- 
fessor of languages in Augusta College, Kentucky, 
and live years afterward was elected chaplain of 
the United States Senate. In 1832 he was elected 
editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal, in 
New York. In 1834 he was elected president of 
Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, at which he re- 
mained until 1845. He then returned to the pas- 
torate, and joined the Philadelphia Conference. 
The General Conference of 1852 elected him to 
the missionary secretaryship, which position he 
filled with great efficiency until his death, which 
occurred in October, 1876, in Philadelphia. I was 
personally acquainted with Dr. Durbin from my 
boyhood, and heard him preach frequently in his 
early ministry. He never failed to interest and 
often overwhelm his audiences by his stirring ap- 
peals to the heart and conscience. He was a great 
favorite at camp-meetings in the West. 

Rev. H. S. Duke, presiding elder of Lexing- 
ton District, Kentucky Conference, died May 
3, 1836, of pulmonary consumption, with which 
he had been afflicted for two years or more. 
His sufferings were intense; yet he was never 
heard to murmur, but bore it with Christian 
patience and fortitude. He conversed frequently 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 69 

and fully on the subject of eternity. He never 
expressed a doubt with regard to his title to heav- 
en, but many times spoke of his prospects of hap- 
piness with apparent rapture, and more than once 
shouted aloud the pleasing song of "Hallelujah, 
and glory to God!" A few days previous to his 
death, when informed that there were no hopes of 
his getting any better, but that a few days must 
end his career, his reply was, "Well, I am ready." 
He was then asked if there were any further direc- 
tions he wished to give. He replied, "Yes, I want 
you to tell the preachers at conference that I have 
never forgotten the address of Bishop Soule at the 
Versailles Conference, when he said, 'Let me die 
at my post.' My cry now is, Come quickly, Lorcj. 
Jesus, come quickly." 

Rev. Calvin Danforth was born in Covington, 
Franklin County, New York, and died at St. 
Augustiue, Florida, May 15, 1839, at the Flori- 
da House, calmly saying, "My witness is in heav- 
en, and my record is on high." His memory ia 
embalmed in the hearts of his friends. 

" By foreign hands his dying eyes were closed, 
By foreign hands his decent limbs composed; 
By foreign hands his humble grave adorned, 
By strangers honored, and by strangers mourned." 

Rev. Richard Donkersley was born in York- 
shire, England. He landed in America in 1842, 



70 LAST WORDS AND 

and died at Elizabeth, Illinois, November 3, 
1875. "I rest my soul on God's promise and on 
Christ's blood; and on this basis I must risk eter- 
nity. If I fail, the universe must fail." 

" Nothing on earth do I desire 

But thy pure love within my breast ; 
This, only this, will I require, 
And gladly give up all the rest." 

Rev. William Dixon was the son of Rev. Wil- 
liam Dixon, a member of the Wesleyan Method- 
ist Conference, and was born in England, Decem- 
ber 27, 1816. In 1834 he emigrated to the 
United States, and settled at Windsor, Conn. In 
1840 he was admitted on trial as a traveling preach- 
ing in the New York Conference. Brother 
Dixon was a man of no ordinary character. His 
advice to a minister just before his death is suffi- 
ciently indicative of his spirit, and explains the 
ground of his ministerial success, "Preach Christ. 
Preach a full, a free, and a present salvation." 

His death was triumphant. His language a 
few moments before his departure was, "I am not 
afraid to die;" and repeating the words he add- 
ed, "The language I employed when God first con- 
verted my soul I can still use, 'Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward 
men.' Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to 
God!" 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 71 

Rev. Jacob Delay was born in Pennsylvania 
December 17, 1781, and died at his residence in 
Jackson County, October 18, 1845. "I am con- 
vinced that my work is done as an itinerant 
preacher; yet my heart is as much in the work as 
it ever was. There are no men under heaven 
that I love as I love the preachers of the Ohio 
Conference; and whether I live long or die soon, 
I expect to meet them in heaven." He often said, 
"Oh, how precious is the Savior! There is not a 
cloud between him and me." In death he left this 
testimony : "The religion which I have preached 
to others more than forty years supports me in 
this trying hour." 

" A kingly character he bears, 

No change his priestly office knows ; 
Unfading is the crown he wears, 
His joys can never reach a close." 

George Daugharty was a native of South Car- 
olina. His mind and memory were exceedingly 
capacious. He had a fund of knowledge. It 
seemed as if he retained the substance of all he 
heard or read, and would recite or repeat it with 
great correctness. He was totally dead to the 
world, idefatigable in labor and study. When he 
spoke of Deity, of providence, or of religion, rev- 
erence, gratitude, solemnity, joy, &c, were evi- 
dently all alive in his soul. He spoke what he 
knew; and his knowledge of God, his Eedeemer 



72 LAST WORDS AND 

and Savior, inspired his heart with a confidence 
which was neither shaken by the pressure of his 
afflictions or the ravages of death. 

He spoke of death and eternity with an engag- 
ing, feeling, sweet composure, and manifested an 
indescribable assemblage of confidence, love, and 
hope while he said, "The goodness and love of God 
to me are great and marvelous as I go down the 
dreadful declivity of death." 

Thomas Daughaday was born in Baltimore 
County, Maryland, in 1777, and departed this life 
in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pa., October 12, 
1810. He saw death approaching with rapid 
strides, but through the promises of the gospel 
and the consolations of the Spirit he was enabled 
to meet the king of terrors without dismay. And 
even when Death had almost completed his con- 
quest over all in him that was mortal, his reason 
still maintained its empire. The last words he 
was heard to articulate were, "Glory! Glory!" 

Rev. Robert Dobbins, a veteran pioneer, died in 
1860, aged 92 years. He said, "Brother Burnell, 
all is light ! light ! ! light ! ! ! There is no darkness 
at all. My way is clear. Bless the Lord." Think- 
ing of his daughter gone before to glory, he said, 
"Yes, Eliza, I will soon be there." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 73 

Rev. Daniel D. Davisson was boru in Clarks- 
burg, Virginia, in 1786. In his twenty-first year 
he was converted to God, at a Methodist camp- 
meeting, and soon afterward entered the itinerant 
ministry, and was received into the Baltimore 
Conference in 1811. He was identified with the 
Ohio Conference some years. He received in all 
forty-one appointments. The limits of this no- 
tice will not allow a detailed account of the dif- 
ferent fields of his labor. 

The Methodist preacher of that period was in 
"labors oft;" but he loved his work, a.nd God was 
with him. Though he had often to travel from 
three to five hundred miles in order to complete 
the circuit of his immense field of labor, and had 
sometimes thirty appointments in four weeks, 
with deep swamps to wade through and rapid 
rivers to cross, he had souls for his hire and much 
comfort in the Holy Ghost. 

As a preacher, Dr. Davisson was logical, me- 
thodical, and eminently scriptural. He has, for- 
tunately, left to the church two small volumes of 
sermons, prepared for the press during the latter 
part of his ministry. They are written in a neat, 
forcible style, with occasional passages of that 
fervid eloquence for which the doctor was well 
known in the early years of his ministry. Father 
Davisson, as he came to be universally and affec- 



74 LAST WORDS AND 

tionately called, was for many years the senior 
member of the Cincinnati Conference. As his 
name stood first on the roll, it is hardly too much 
to say that he stood first in the affections of his 
brethren. As the patriarch of his conference, 
sitting near the president, with his pure, loving, 
saintly face, how vividly is his image impressed 
on our memories ! When he arose to speak, every 
eye was fixed, every ear open, every noise hushed ; 
and when his eye kindled and his clarion voice 
rang out, his speech was in demonstration of the 
Spirit, and with power to the very last. In 
the long list of faithful, self-denying men who 
during the present century have toiled with such 
marvelous success to establish Methodism upon a 
firm foundation, there is not one who stands out 
more pre-eminently for purity of heart and life 
than Father Davisson. His was emphatically a 
transparent character. He wore no mask; he 
was what he seemed, — as upright in his principles 
as in his person. Few men, probably, have lived 
so long and so conspicuously before the public who 
have uttered so few words which, dying, "they 
could wish to blot." He loved his brother-minis- 
ters, especially those of his own conference, with 
a love that was wonderful. 

I need not add that he was man of unaffected 
humility. For nearly half a century he performed 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 75 

the arduous work of an active, efficient itinerant, 
never seeking place or preferment. His closing 
hours were calm and peaceful, at his home in 
Dayton, Ohio. 

E 

Key. Arthur Elliott was born in Baltimore 
County, Maryland, February 22, 1784, and died 
in Paris, Illinois, January 18, 1858. He was ad- 
mitted to the Ohio Conference in 1818. His cir- 
cuits were two and three hundred miles in cir- 
cumference. He soon rose to great eminence and 
usefulness. He had wonderful power over the 
masses that attended upon his eloquent and fer- 
vent pulpit utterances Late in the fall of 1857 
his iron frame gave way, and he declined rapidly; 
but his confidence in God remained firm. Though 
a great sufferer, he was filled, as he said, with "joy 
and peace." A beautiful marble monument has 
been erected over his grave by his sons, in Paris, 
Illinois. The memory of Brother Elliott is still 
fragrant in Ohio. 

Rev. Augustus Eddy was born in Massachu- 
setts, October 5, 1798, and died February 9, 1870, 
in Indiana. 

When near his end, with wife and children 
around him, he asked to be raised up and support- 



76 LAST WORDS AND 

ed; and then, summoning his strength, as if for 
a last effort, he laid one arm around the neck of 
his son Thomas, and placing the other hand upon 
his head said, slowly, "The God of your father, 
and the God of your mother, and the God of your 
brothers and sisters, keep you. The good- will of 
him who dwelt in the bush abide upon you and 
your wife and children. May your days be mul- 
tiplied, and your ministry made abundantly suc- 
cessful, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost." He repeated his benediction upon each 
of his family, varying so much in form as to suit 
the circumstances of each. Thus grandly did he 
close up a long life of forty-six years, devoted to 
life's noblest end. As a gospel minister 

" He bore his great commission on his look 
With sweetly tempered awe, and softened all he spoke. 
He preached the joys of heaven and pains of hell, 
And warned the sinners with becoming zeal, 
But on eternal mercy loved to dwell." 

Rev. James Elliott, nephew of the late Dr. 
Charles Elliott, was born June 13, 1813, in Ire- 
land, and died May 2, 1870. When asked how 
the future looked, he replied that the future gave 
him no concern, for he had fixed that matter long 
ago, while in health. On Sunday, the day before 
he died, he said, "It did not require any stretch of 
faith to sing songs in the day-time; but in the 
night of sorrow and affliction it required stronger 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 77 

faith." And as an expression of that faith and 
the joy of his heart he sung the beautiful lines, 

" In heaven above, where all is love, 
There will be no more sorrow there," etc., 

And shouted, "Glory ! glory ! hallelujah. !" 

Rev. Thomas Mears Eddy, son of Rev. Augus- 
tus Eddy, was horn near Cincinnati, Hamilton 
County, Ohio, September 23, 1823, and died in 
New York, October 7, 1874. 

When General Fisk informed him that he could 
not recover he said, "It does not seem possible 
that this can be my fatal illness. There is too 
much work to be done that I should accomplish. 
I am just in the prime of life. I know how to 
work for Jesus, and I know how to work for his 
cause. Does it not seem strange that I should be 
called home from the vineyard when there are so 
many laggards in the field, which is now, as 
never before, whitening for the harvest? Never- 
theless, God's will be done. If I am to die, there 
are certain items of business I must adjust." 

Speaking of his life-work he said, "I have no 
regret that my life has been spent in holding up 
Jesus to my fellow-men as their Savior. Preach- 
ing Christ is the only work which brings sweet, 
perpetual contentment. Dying is a fact that takes 
care of itself 



78 LAST WORDS AND 

Faith in the great hereafter, through Christ, is 
my strength. I am now in a most sweet state of 
mind, nearing the gates. Tarry not, Lord, but 
come now." 

Beyond the parting and the meeting, 

I shall be soon ; 
Beyond the farewell and the greeting, 
Beyond the pulse's fever-beating, 

I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home ! sweet, sweet home ! 
Oh, how sweet it will be there to meet 
The dear ones all at home." 

The sacrament was administered by Dr. Chap- 
man. The entire household was summoned at his 
request, not omitting the colored cook at his spe- 
cial request. He then quoted much from the 
hymns so frequently sung on those occasions. 
With great emphasis he repeated : 

" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress : 
Midst flaming world in these arrayed, 
With joy shall I lift up my head. 

" Lord, I believe thy precious blood, 
Which, at the mercy-seat of God, 
Forever doth for sinners plead, 
For me, e'en for my soul was shed." 

The entire morning was made up of these glori- 
ous utterances. "Nannie, my first-born grand- 
child! I have loved her, oh, so dearly. These 
bonds of affection are are so strong. Like an ivy, 
she has climbed and twined about our hearts. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 79 

Spencer, dear little Spencer! A grand, glorious, 
beautiful boy, — our first grandson. May God 
watch over him. May he never be untoward or 
uncouth; and may his life ever be given to the 
Master." 

"Of the church at large, I have thought of it 
among the last. If I go away now, I leave it 
when it never had such opportunities. God is 
guiding it; and if it only stands fast, and remains 
true to its trust, it is on the eve of the most tri- 
umphant history it ever knew." 

"Fully ready ! bless his holy name ! Won't it be 
blessed to drink from the fountain of the river of 
life?" and then, as if in a vision, "The morning 
cometh! the morning cometh? Hallelujah!" 

"All is given to Christ ; and with good hope 
through grace I go into the future world without 
fear. Jesus has a good custom of making things 
up to people. He is more than making all things 
up to me. Glory be to his name! Hallelujah! 
he does supply our every need." To Bishop Janes, 
"I am resting in Jesus so sweetly; a poor sinner, 
saved by grace ; but saved, God be thanked !' 

In regard to the missions and their need he said, 
"Forward is the word; no falling back. We must 
take the world for Christ. Say to our people that 
the Lord strikes the hour of opportunity louder 



80 LAST WORDS AND 

than thunder on the dome of the sky. We must 
throw down our gold in the presence of God." 

Late Tuesday night it seems that the weary 
wheels of life stood still; but he rallied, and lift- 
ing his trembling hands he said, "The grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ be upon and abide with 
you evermore." At midnight, with a voice strong 
and clear, he shouted, "Hallelujah! hallelujah! 
hallelujah !" "Looking toward us," says Dr. E. 
O. H. Tiftanny, "he said, 'Sing and pray, — eter- 
nity dawns,' and passed into glory." 

Ivev. William Innis Ellsworth was born in 
Clinton County, Ohio, August 9, 1807, and died 
at his residence in Springfield, Ohio, in 1875. His 
first license is dated August 13, 1832. He was 
rapidly advanced through the office of local 
preacher to membership in the Ohio Conference. 
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Soule, and 
elder by Bishop Waugh. He spent thirty-four 
years of active service in the Ohio and Cincinnati 
conferences. During the remaining ten years of 
his ministerial life he held the relation of either a 
supernumerary or superannuated preacher to the 
Cincinnati Conference. Brother Ellsworth was a 
pure man, and a most excellent preacher. He 
sought and found the great blessing of "perfect 
love," and lived it and preached it, and died in 
the full assurance that he was "washed in the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 81 

1 of the Lamb.' 5 The exceptional holiness of 
his daily walk and life will witness for him in 
years to come. 

AVilliam Edmonds was born in Lancaster Coun- 
ty, Virginia, February 16, 1804. He embraced 
ion while residing in Baltimore, in 1823. In 
1829 he was recommended to the Baltimore Con- 
ference, and was received on trial. In March, 
1831, he was admitted into full connection, and 
ordained deacon, and elder in 1833. He contin- 
ued to travel and labor as an effective man until 
health failed. He was a devout, holy, and 
useful minister or Jesus. His last illness was se- 
vere. When visited by the preacher in charge, 
and interrogated as to his feelings, he replied. "I 
have been struggling to be enabled to say fully, 
and with all my heart, 'Thy will be done/' :; To 
rife h^ said, * ; ~VThen the messenger has come 
wor=~, and yon ~ee this poor body 
sink into the grave, then rejoice; and always re- 
joice in the Lord. I wish I had a little strength." 
He then repeated, "Glory, glory, victory, victory, 
through t 1 j i the Lamb! That is it. I 

nothing have; I nothing urn;' 

. Simos Ellioti 25, 1809. 

When about five years of age he wrae brought from 

his co intry. He was ■: ; nvei :e 1 to 

I n:n j list Episc jpal Church 



82 LAST WORDS AND 

when about the age of eighteen. In 1833 he was 
received on trial in the Pittsburgh Conference of 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and appoint- 
ed to Brownsville Circuit. 

When he came to the brink of the valley of 
the shadow of death, the point where potentates 
have trembled and the mighty are afraid, he said, 
"I expected peace in death, but not eesiasy; but 
now I am in ecstasy." The morning before he 
breathed his last he took formal leave of his 
friends, speaking at some length to each of them. 
Though scarcely able to speak above a whisper, 
he continued with but little intermission for near 
two hours. The scene was one not to be describ- 
ed. To his wife his language was that of com- 
fort. His little children were brought to him that 
they might receive a dying father's blessing. He 
exhorted the preachers present to "do good of ev- 
ery possible sort; to preach Christ more fully, 
more earnestly ; to preach the efficacy of his atone- 
ment, the power of his gospel, and the terror of 
his law." To one of his brethren he said,, "I have 
frequently heard you speak of dying grace for a 
dying day ; but I rather thought we would have 
that grace every day. Now I believe that is a point 
to be maintained, for I now find grace as I never 
expected it; it comes in on every side." 

About midnight he wished all to come round 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 83 

his bed, that he might see them. They did so. 
He thought the light was poor. His eyes were 
growing dim in death. Two candles were placed 
so as to accommodate him. After taking a look 
at those around him he said, "Sing." Being 
asked what should be sung he replied, "Something 
that has Jesus in it." Then we sung the hymns 
beginning with these lines, "Alas! and did my 
Savior bleed;" "And let this feeble body fail;" 
and, "What's this that steals upon my frame." 

Eev. Daniel Eb-gerton was born July 2, 1850, 
and died in June, 1878. Several weeks before his 
death, in a class-meeting, he said, "1 stand on the 
platform, waiting for the heavenly train, — satchel 
in one hand and ticket in the other. I know it 
will take me through, for it is stamped with the 
blood of Jesus. I know that I am going to live." 
"Heaven seems so much brighter and real than 
ever before; and the plan of salvation is so clear. 
It is like starting on a iournev. You see the city 
in the distance; then nearer, until it is in full 
view. So it is with heaven, grand and glorious." 
"Do not weep when I am gone. Sing the doxol- 
ogy. Angels! angels! Sinff, 'Praise God from 
whom all blessings flow.'" 

Rev. Isaac Ebbert, D. D., was born at Ellicott 
Mills, Md., March 2, 1817, and died in 1871, at 



84 LAST WORDS AND 

Paducah, Keutucky. His last words were, "My 
way is clear ; all is clear." 

Rev. Thomas Ellis was bom in Mastyn, Flint- 
shire, North Wales, January 1, 1806, and died at 
Pine Plains, New York, May 30, 1873. He said, 
"I never had such views of the mercy of God in 
the gift of Jesus Christ as now." 

" And can it be that I should gain . 
An interest in the Savior's blood? 
Amazing love ! how can it be, 
That thou, my Lord, should'st die for me." 

"What a wonder ! The Lord Jesus died for 
Thomas Ellis. I feel like the sainted Summer- 
field, 'Take away the divinity of my Lord, and 
you are welcome to all that is left.' I have been 
thinking of the grave; but I do not dread it. 
After being tossed by the tempest for so many 
years, it will be pleasant to anchor this body in 
the grave. The Lord is my strength and shield. 
My heart trusted in him, and I am helped ; there- 
fore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song 
I will praise him. My son, preach Christ and him 
crucified." 

Eichard Emery, the youngest son of John and 
Abiah Emery, was born in Haverhill, West Parish, 
Massachusetts, November 23, 1794. He viewed 
the blessing of sanctification in a clear and im- 
portant light, and regretted that he had not 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 85 

preached it more frequently. He felt that holiness 
was the only qualification for heaven; and longed 
to be with his God. He considered death only as 
an entrance into glory, and submissively prayed 
and wished for its arrival ; and when the "final 
hour" came he embraced it with apostolic firmness, 
exclaiming for his last words, "I am wrapped in the 
visions of God's love." 

Robert Emory was born in Philadelphia, July 
29, 1814, and died May 18, 1848. From his boy- 
hood he was unlike others of his own age; for 
although he mingled in the usual sports of child- 
hood, yet he carried into them that dignity of de- 
portment and care over his playfellows which con- 
stituted the germ of that power of government 
which so strikingly distinguished him in after life. 

His death, as might have been expected, was 
marked by Christian composure and quiet cer- 
tainty. He attached but little importance — perhaps 
too little— to the mere death-scene, considering the 
life rather than the death to be the test of Chris- 
tian character. Hence when Death had well- 
nigh done his work, and the windows of his room 
were hoisted to assist his breathing, being asked as 
to his reliance upon Christ, he assented, but added 
that no importance was to be attached to anything 
he might say then, evidently meaning that his life 
was his witness, and that the shattered condition 



86 LAST WORDS AND 

of his body might interfere with the just action 
of his mind. After arranging his temporal con- 
cerns he remarked, "And now something is due 
to God. My mind, in all my deep affliction, has 
been kept in peace; indeed, its complete serenity 
has been a matter of astonishment to myself." 
At another time he said he wished it understood 
that he died in the faith of his fathers. 



F 



John Wesley Fowble was born in Baltimore, 
Md., November 5, 1814. There were, doubtless, 
instructive incidents in his early history, call to 
the ministry, etc. ; but no traces of that portion 
of his life are left behind. He came to Ohio, as 
he expressed it, to seek his fortune, and in 1838 
was united in marriage to Miss Susan L. Quinn, 
daughter of the late Rev. James Quinn, of the 
Ohio Conference. The disease which terminated 
fatally was pronounced by his attending physician 
softening of the brain. Whenever interrogated 
in regard to his spiritual condition his answers 
were always satisfactory, giving assurance of his 
willingness to depart and be with Christ. 

A few days before his death two of his minis- 
terial brethren called to see him. He appeared 
somewhat rational. To the question, "Is Christ 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 87 

precious ?" he answered, -Yes.*' Prayer was then 
offered, after which were sung two stanzas of the 
hymn commencing. "Jesus, lover of my soul." 

Rev. Robert Fox was born in Virginia, October 
•2.:'. 1826, and died in Guyaudotte, "VTest Virginia, 
July 1. 1S73. To his sorrowing wife he said, 
"Trust in God ; he will care for you and your chil- 
dren. Religion has been my stay and comfort in 
life, and now death opens the gates and lets me 
in." 

Wilbur Fisk. D. D.. died February 21. 1338, 
a°:ed 47 years. Said this distinguished and dying 
man to his afflicted wife. '-Think not, when vou 
see this poor feeble body stretched in death, that 
it is your husband. Oh, no ! Your husband will 
have escaped, free and liberated from every clog! 
He will have new-plumed his glad wings, and 
soared away through the ethereal regions to that 
ial city of light and love! ^Vhat ! talk of 
burying your husband ! Xo, never ! Vour hus- 
band can not be buried ; he will be in heaven." 
At another time, when nature seemed exhausted 
and life was fast ebbing out. as he was lifted from 
the bed to his chair, he sighed forth, "From the 
chair to the throne !" 

•• * Froni the chair to the throne! ' Oh, vision snblinie ! 
All the beauties celestial combining. — 
Like the rising of morn o'er the darkness of time, 



88 LAST WORDS AND 

The sweet music of heaven enraptured his soul, 
And his giant heart leaped with emotion ; 

When his sanctified spirit, intent on the goal, 
Launched forth on eternity's ocean." 

Rev. John Fletcher died August 14, 1785, aged 
56 years. Mr. Fletcher was a distinguished polem- 
ic writer, and entered warmly into the Arminian 
controversy against Mr. Toplady. So zealous was 
he to maintain, in the heat of controversy, per- 
fect Christian kindness, that he submitted his pa- 
pers before publication to a friend, with specific 
instruction to expunge every passage inconsistent 
with Christian love. How triumphant his dying 
hours! Like the sainted Toplady, the man of 
war was a man of love. A few days before his 
death he exclaimed to his wife, "God is love. 
Shout, shout aloud ! I want a gust of praise to 
go to the ends of the earth. But it seems as if I 
could not speak much longer. Let us fix on a 
sign between ourselves." Then, tapping Mrs. 
Fletcher twice with his finger, he added, u JSTow I 
mean God is love ; and we will draw each other 
into God." When his strength had failed him, 
and his eloquent tongue had ceased to declare the 
fjoys of his glad spirit, the heaven-pointing finger 
spoke with thrilling eloquence — God is love! 

"Praise him, all ye nations, praise ! 
Emulate the choirs above ; 
Softest, sweetest voices raise, — 
Shout, shout aloud, God is love." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 89 

Rev. Henry Furlong was born in Baltimore, 



Md., March 21, 1796, and died August 29, 1876. 
The last hours of this man of God will never be 
forgotten. "I am constantly enjoying solid peace. 
My children, aim at high attainments in religion. 
Let your characters shine through your lives." 
"Give my love to my brethren, and tell them I 
am on the Rock, living or dying. I go trusting 
wholly in the merits of the atonement. When 
the Master says, 'Come,' I say, 'Here am I.' " 

Rev. Hezekiah Field was born in Mansfield, 
Conn. He embraced religion and joined the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church under the ministry of Revs. 
C. Ruter and John Nichols, at Woodstock, Ver- 
mont, in 1801. He was a good preacher, and God 
blessed his labors. He experienced the blessing 
of "perfect love" in 1807, and never lost the wit- 
ness. He lived it and preached it until his death, 
January 2, 1843, in the seventy-fifth year of his 
age. His last-remembered utterance was, "I am 
ready to go. To live is Christ; but to die is 
gain.' 

John Ferree was born in Lancaster County, 
Pa., November 22, 1792. He was left an orphan 
in infancy; and although in early life he was de- 
prived of advantages possessed by many, yet he 
was distinguished for his strict and uniform mo- 
rality. From his youth his deportment was mod- 



90 LAST WORDS AND 

est, sedate, and dignified. In the fall of 1825 he 
was admitted into the traveling connection of the 
Ohio Conference. He labored eight years on cir- 
cuits, was stationed once in Cincinnati, and was 
presiding elder ten years. He served as a dele- 
gate in the general conferences of 1836 and 1844. 
He had more than ordinary strength of intellect; 
and he applied himself with zeal and industry to 
the means by which it might be improved. And his 
efforts were successful. 

One who heard him sing at a camp- meeting, a 
short time before he died, said, "That man and his 
music would do for heaven; and God will certain- 
ly soon take him up to sing with the angels." The 
prediction was soon fulfilled. 

Rev. ArialFay died in Roy alton, Vermont, De- 
cember 29, 1836, aged 28 years. In 1830 he join- 
ed the New Hampshire Conference, and in 1835 
was appointed to Corinth Circuit, where he finish- 
ed his labors of love. 

His disease was pulmonary consumption. He 
suffered much, but was patient and resigned. Be- 
fore we joined in prayer he said, "I wish you to 
pray that I may enjoy all the gospel has provided 
for me." We prayed; the Lord answered; the 
room was filled with the glory of God. Brother 
Fay was unspeakably happy ; he praised the Lord 
aloud. His language was, "Glory, glory !" "Now, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 91 

brother," said he, a I am ready; I am ready to 
die, or live and sutler all the will of God. Tell 
my brethren they must be holy. Tell my breth- 
ren in the ministry that in order to have success 
in their work they must both live and preach 
holiness." 

Rev. Andrew Craig Field was born in Hobart, 
N". Y., February 6, 1815, and died in Tarrytown, 
K Y., January 13, 1872, aged 56 years. He died 
a martyr to overwork. On the 8th of January, 
his last Sunday ou earth, Rev. Dr. Crown called, 
and found him in a delightful mood. "I can not 
say I am rushing through the gates," said he; 
"but I am going slowly. One of my favorite 
texts always has been, 'Blessed are they that do 
his commandments, that they may have right to 
the tree of life, and may enter in through the 
gates into the city/" I am going where Christ is. 
All there is in religion here is the manifestation of 
Christ ; and I think it will be so there. As I near 
the shore I feel increasing attraction." The next 
day he said, "Good- by. Tell the preachers I am 
going through the gates into the city trusting in 
Jesus. Tell the old members of the conference — 
Brother Richardson and others — that I am grate- 
ful for all their kind advice. Tell the young 
preachers their great model is the Savior. Oh, if 



92 LAST WORDS AND 

I had a million souls I would give them all to 
Jesus/' 

Hon. Senator Solomon Foot was born in Corn- 
wall, Vermont, November 19, 1802, and died in 
Washington City, March 26, 1866. He was a 
humble Christian statesman, and died in great 
triumph. Before his death he expressed a desire 
to see the light of the sun and the capitol of his 
country. He was lifted up, his eyes already grow- 
ing dim, and then sunk back upon his pillow. 
His wife read to him the twenty-third psalm, — 
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want," 
etc. When the reading was finished he called her 
to his bedside, folded her in his arms, and asked, 
"Can this be death ?" Then, looking with celes- 
tial radiance, and lifting up his eyes, he exclaimed 
aloud, "I see it ! I see it ! I see the gates wide 
open ! Beautiful ! beautiful!" and without a pang 
instantly expired. 

This is doubtless the experience of all who with 
strong faith approach Jordan "on a calm bedside." 
In our progress through life the vapors that float 
in our mental atmosphere render the vision im- 
perfect, and we can not "see afar off." But as we 
draw nearer eternity the air grows pure and the 
light brighter and the vision clearer, and serenity 
pervades the whole being. The vision of the 
future opens upon the eye of the soul, and the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 93 

dying Christian beholds the "gates of heaven," 
and the river of life, its glad waters kissing the 
throne of God. 

The glories of the new world grow brighter and 
brighter upon him. He sees heaven open; and 
with dying Stephen he beholds "Jesus at the right 
hand of the Father," to take him home to heaven. 
And as he dwells with rapture upon Jesus, — like 
Elisha's servant at the gate of Damascus, — he is 
instantly environed with troops of angels, who 
are come to take him up over the everlasting hills 
in the chariot of the Lord of hosts. 

Henry S. Farxaxdis was born December 1, 
1973, in Loudouu County, Ya., and was brought 
up in the Church of England. Feeling that it 
was his duty to preach, and Providence opening 
his way, on the 16th of January, 1819, he was li- 
censed by Eev. J. Collins, and joined the Ohio 
Conference. 

To a friend he said, "I never felt such commun- 
ion with God before. Oh, how deep ! how sweet !" 
To Rev. W. R. Davis he said, "Tell the Ohio An- 
nual Conference that Henry S. Fernandes loves 
them all with a perfect love." Bro. Davis asked, 
"Shall I tell them that you have gone to heaven?" 
He replied, "Yes; to heaven, to God, to Mt. Zion. 
Oh, will they all meet me there?" On another 
occasion he said, "Brother Finley, I am going 



91 LAST WORDS AND 

straight home — straight home to glory." Being 
asked by his wife, a short time before his death, 
whether he had any doubts or fears he said, "No, 
not any. I have conversed so long with death 
that it has no terrors in it." On the 17th of May, 
1845, in the fifty-third year of his age, in his own 
house, surrounded by his family and friends, thus 
fell asleep this man of God. 

Rev. Mr. Ford, of New Jersey, during the time 
of his protracted and painful sickness, was abun- 
dantly sustained by the comforting influence of 
the Holy Spirit. He had frequent sinking-spells, at 
which times he was unable to speak. When revived 
from one of these he said, "I thought I had nearly 
passed through the dark valley. But I feared no 
evil ; Jesus was with me. Up ! up ! my soul 
mounts higher, higher, and soon will clap its 
glad wings and soar away to dwell with God in 
endless day I" After spending a restless night, as 
the light of morning was shining forth he ex- 
claimed, "Glory to God! there shall be no restless 
nights there ; the day that will dawn on us shall 
never close." At one time he said, "I am in great 
agony; but my soul is stayed on Jesus, my Right- 
eousness, the Rock of my salvation. It fills my 
heart with joy unspeakable to think of the glories I 
am about to enter upon. This frail tabernacle is 
crushed by disease; but soon my freed spirit shall 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 95 

burst the shackles and be wafted to the bosom of 
God." At another time he said, "I am in the 
flood of death and feel no dread. The Savior is 
above, beneath, and around me; his arms of love 
encompass me." 

William W. Foulks was born in Monmouth 
County, New Jersey, September 25, 1788. In the 
sixteenth year of his age he united with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. His last illness was ex- 
tremely severe and afflicting ; yet amidst it all his 
mind was as calm and serene as a summer morn. 
To a brother who visited him a short time before 
his death, and inquired respecting his spiritual 
state, he said, "All is right! all is right!" And 
when the same brother engaged in prayer that 
God might receive his spirit he said, emphatically, 
"He will! he will! he will!" 

Daniel Fuller was born in Paris, Maine, in 
1804. His preaching was characterized by deep 
feeling, point, sobriety, and strong appeals to the 
reason and sensibility of his hearers. During his 
sickness the following, among like expressions, 
fell from his feeble lips with great emphasis, "You 
may yet live, but my time to die has come. I am 
satisfied; it is just the right time. Oh, could I 
preach once more I would preach as I never 
preached before ! You may look back, but I must 



96 LAST WORDS AND 

look forward. lam kept in perfect peace. I have 
nothing against any one. I have given up all. 
Bless the Lord! Glory to God!" He died July 
27, 1847, aged 43 years, leaving a wife and four 
children. 

Rev. James W. Finley, eldest son of the late 
Rev. John P. and Sarah Finley, was born in High- 
land County, Ohio, December 24, 1806, and was 
converted to God in 1824. He told his weeping 
friends that the time of his departure was at hand; 
and when gasping for breath he said, "Oh, what 
love and what peace I feel." He said, "I feel 
more of the love of God and greater peace than 
I ever felt before." He said also to his weeping 
mother, just before he expired, "Oh, how precious 
the Lord is to my poor soul ! Glory ! glory ! " 

Cyrus Foss was born in Barrington, ~N. H., in 
1799. Before he was of age he went to Dover, 
Duchess County, N. Y., and while teaching school 
in Beekman, an adjoining town, was converted to 
God under the ministry of Rev. Arnold Seofield. 
In 1825 he was received on trial in the New York 
Annual Conference, and in 1827 was admitted in- 
to full connection and ordained deacon. In 1829 
he was ordained elder. 

When his health began to decline it soon be- 
came apparent, both to himself and his friends, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. Vt 

that his end was approaching. He now found 
that the gospel of Christ was the solace of his spirit. 
Here, on the merit of his Savior, whose wondrous 
love in the redemption of man was so frequently 
the theme of his discourses, his faith firmly rested; 
and here it triumphed, affording him a tranquillity 
of soul that was truly astonishing to himself, as 
well as highly instructive to his Christian friends. 
One of his last requests was that he might be af- 
fectionately remembered to all his brethren. 
'•Tell them," said he to a brother in the ministry, 
"that my belief in the great doctrines of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church has not suffered the 
least abatement, but is. if possible, stronger thau 
ever." When he believed the hour of his de- 
parture at hand he exclaimed to a relative, '-This 
is the happiest day of all my life."' He died at 
Carmel, X. Y.. February 29, aged 50 years. 

G 

Rev. Daniel Grieeis was born near Princeton, 
Butler County. Ohio. March 29, 1S27. and died at 
the same place August 28, 1861. TVhen near his 
death he said. "All is calm, and clear as crystal. 
There is not a cloud on my mind. All is bright. 
I am ready to die. The gospel I have preached to 
others supports me now. Tell my brethren of the 
conference that the gospel they are called to 



98 LAST WORDS AND 

preach is a wonderful, a powerful gospel." Then 
he raisied his hand and said, as his last words, " I 
am now ready to go." 

Rev. Thomas H. Gibbins was born in Spring- 
field, Washington County, Kentucky, July 19, 
1807, and died in Georgetown, Kentucky, June 
24, 1838. 

On the 1st of July, 1831, he was married in 
Cincinnati to Miss Eliza Weath, who lingered by 
him to his last moments — 

" To mark the fading cheek, the sinking eye— 
From the chill brow to wipe the damps of death, 
And watch in dumb despair the shortening breath." 

After specifying all his business arrangements 
he called his wife, gave her his blessing, besought 
God to bless and save her to raise the children in 
the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to 
meet him in heaven. He then called for his two 
children, took his daughter, the elder, into his 
arms, blessed her in God's name, and prayed the 
Lord to take care of and guide her and save her in 
heaven. Then taking his infant son into his arm3 
he committed him to the care of the good Lord, 
and prayed God, consistent with his will, to make 
of him a humble Methodist preacher; aud calling 
upon me to baptize his infant son, he named him 
Thomas Emory. Soon after he said, "Now, 
Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 99 

Stretching forth his hands to those standing round 
he said, "All who will promise to meet me in 
heaven, give your hands." 

He inquired, "Is this death ? It is but the val- 
ley of the shadow of death ! There is no substance 
here — nothing to intervene between Christ and my 
soul ! If this be death, it is nothing to die ! " He 
then exclaimed, "Friends and brethren, in glory 
meet me ! Wife and family, in glory meet me ! 
Brethren and membership of Georgetown, in glory 
meet me ! Georgetown and Scott County, on the 
bright fields of ineffable glory meet me ! " He 
then sunk away; but again reviving, he made 
an effo rt to bring his hands together, and anon, 
with surprising energy, clapped them, shout- 
ing at the top of his voice, "Victory! victory! 
victory! is on the side of Israel; victory is 
on the side of Israel forever ! " After this he 
called his family by name, as follows : " Thomas 
Emory, Mary, and Eliza Gibbins, in glory meet 
me ! Brothers Beatty, Cannon, Stevenson, friends 
and brethren, in glory meet me ! " and then said, 
" There is Gabriel, and other angels, perhaps come 
to convey me home." He then seemed almost 
gone; but, contrary to all expectation, again he 
roused a little, and inquired, " What does this 
mean ? Have I come back again? The Lord has 
something to do in this ! Perhaps this is deten- 



100 LAST WORDS AND 

tion in the outer courts." Finally he said pretty 
plainly, "Amen, amen !" 

"Now, traveler, in the vale of tears, 
To realms of everlasting light, 
Through Time's dark wilderness of years, 
Pursue thy flight." 

Rev. Tobias Gibson, a native of South Carolina, 
was born in Liberty County, on Great Pee Dee, 
November 10, 1771. "Hark, if we heard the voice 
of Tobias Gibson, crying in the wilderness between 
Cumberland and Natchez, a voice of prayer, 
preaching, exhortation, and praise! but oh, now 
in heavenly songs he joins to praise the eternal 
Trinity, in eternal unity in the land of rest, the 
saints' delight, the heaven prepared for all faith- 
ful, holy preachers and people." 

Rev. John Guyer was born in Pennsylvania, 
February 13, 1808, and died in 1867. 

"If my affliction be as I suppose, — a chastise- 
ment, — I shall get well; if otherwise, I shall not 
recover. In either case, it will be all right. It is 
sweet to die. Living or dying makes but little dif- 
ference to the Christian. If we live, we have Christ 
with us; if we die, we are with Christ. Amen !" 
" Rock of ages, cleft for me," etc. 

Rev. James Guyer was born in Huntingdon Co., 
Pennsylvania, January 3, 1817, and died August 
12, 1846, at the residence of his father-in-law. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 101 

Hon. GL Crawford, in Clinton County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in the twenty- ninth year of his age, and 
the fifth of his ministry. 

" I have this morning a bright prospect of going 
home, and am satisfied that when I leave this 
earthly tabernacle I shall be present with the 
Lord." As the closing scene drew near his soul 
was filled with joy, and he broke out in songs of 
triumph and praise. He took his brother — who 
had arrived but the day before — in his arms, and 
spoke of the happy seasons they had enjoyed to- 
gether in the labors of the Christian ministry, and 
of their meeting in heaven. " Christ," said his 
brother, "is the resurrection and the life." " Oh> 
yes," said he, " he holds the key that will unlock 
the prison-doors of death and bring up his captive 
people redeemed and disenthralled," and quoted, 

" I'll praise my Maker while I've breath ; 
And when ray voice is lost in death, 
Praise shall employ my nobler powers." 

He then sunk away; but shortly, recovering a 
little, he said to his weeping wife, "Am I yet 
here? I thought I had gone. Oh! heaven is a 
glorious place." Soon after, he could speak no 
more; and without a struggle, with a heavenly 
smile on his countenance, he slept in death. 

Rev. Thomas Gorsqch was born January 1, 
1816, in Harford County, Maryland. In his thir- 



102 LAST WORDS AND 

teenth year he was converted to God at a camp- 
meeting, and soon after joined the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, under the ministry of Dr. 
Edwin Dorsey, of the Baltimore Conference. He 
was licensed as an exhorter October 14, 1838, and 
soon after removed West, with his father's family, 
and settled in the beautiful valley of the Great 
Miami, in the quiet village of Monroe, where, 
after lingering about eighteen months, on the 
evening of the 12th of May, 1855, he closed the 
labors and sufferings of a holy and useful life, 
aged 39 years, 4 months, and 12 days. 

Once I said to him, " Do you now regret the 
sacrifices you have made in the ministry?" 
" Speak not to me," said he, " about sacrifices ; I 
have made none. I esteem the honor of being 
permitted to preach the gospel an abundant rec- 
ompense for any sacrifice I have seemed to make. 
Oh, the luxury of preaching the gospel. I would 
willingly take the hardest circuit and the poorest 
fare if 1 might once more preach it. Could I 
live my life over again, and could I foresee all, — 
the premature decay, the racking pains, this 
skeleton form, the early grave, — I'd be a Meth- 
odist preacher." 

On another occasion, in reply to my question, 
"Have you any word to send to your brethren of 
the conference?" he said, "I have no special 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 103 

word to send to ray brethren; but tell them that 1 
love them. I love Methodist preachers, as a body, 
more than any body of men on earth, and espe- 
cially my brethren of the Cincinnati Conference. 
I would love to live longer to do good in the 
world. I esteem it that God has conferred the 
highest honor on me in calling me to the work of 
the ministry; and if I could live over my minis- 
terial life I would labor exclusively for the salva- 
tioD of souls. I shall die a full Christian, a full 
believer in the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

Bishop George was born in Lancaster, Ya., in 
1768. His last hours were bright. He said that he 
saw ^angelic spirits." -Who are these ?" said he, 
and then added, "Are they not all ministering 
spirits?" etc. a My dear departed wife has been 
with me, and now I shall soon be with her in 
glory." 7 On Friday morning he said, ; * Brethren, 
rejoice with me; I am going to glory ! I am going 
to glory ; and that is enough."' He then clapped 
his hands and added, ''Shout, srlorv to God! The 
best of all, God is with us." The next morning 
he repeated, i; I am going to glory ! I have been 
trvin^ for manv vears to lead others to srlorv, and 
now thither I am going. For me to live is Christ, 
but to die is gain. 5 '" 



1Q4 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Philip Gatch, a pioneer of early Meth- 
odism, was born near the city of Baltimore, Md., 
March 2, 1751, and died at his residence in Mil- 
ford, Clermont County, Ohio. He was converted 
to God in 1772, and not long afterward com- 
menced preaching. He attended the first Meth- 
odist conference in Philadelphia, in 1773, and was 
appointed to a circuit. Subsequently he traveled 
in J^ew Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. 
God blessed his labors, and he was instrumental 
in adding thousands to the church. In his early 
ministry he suffered not only great privations in 
common with others, but great opposition, and at 
times severe persecution. At one time, traveling 
between Bladensburg and Baltimore, he was ar- 
rested by an infuriated mob, who severely abused 
him. They covered him with tar, and applied it 
to one of his naked eye-balls, producing great 
pain, from the effects of which he never entirely 
recovered. He describes the scene in the follow- 
ing graphic style : "If I ever felt for the souls of 
men, I did for their souls. When I reached my ap- 
pointment the Spirit of the Lord so overpowed 
me that I fell prostrate in prayer for the conver- 
sion of my enemies. And the Lord granted my 
request; for the man who applied the tar to me, 
and several others of the party, were afterward 
converted." But it did not end with this attack. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 105 

The next morning another party waylaid him on 
his way to his appointment; but he turned out of 
the road, and they failed to accomplish their hell- 
ish purpose. 

On another occasion he was seized by two stout 
men; and he thus describes the strange manner 
in which they punished him : "They caught hold 
of my arms and turned them in opposite direc- 
tions with such violence that I thought my shoul- 
ders were dislocated. It caused me the severest 
pain I ever experienced. I concluded that this 
kind of torture resembled what is termed 'the 
rack.' My shoulders were so badly bruised that 
they turned black; and it was a considerable time 
before I recovered the use of my arms and was 
free from pain in my shoulders." Notwithstand- 
ing this bitter opposition, he continued to travel 
andpreach a number of years. 

He subsequently came to Ohio, and settled on 
the Miami River, about fifteen miles east of Cin- 
cinnati. He was a good man, full of faith, love, 
hope, and charity. His end was peace. 

Rev. Leonard B. Gurley was born in the city 
of Norwich, Connecticut, March 10, 1804, and 
died in Delaware, Ohio, March 26, 1889. When 
in his eighth year, he moved with his father's fam- 
ily to the very border of civilization in Ohio. In 



106 LAST WORDS AND 

early youth, in the deep recesses of a forest camp- 
meeting, he was converted. May 21, 1826, he 
was licensed to exhort, and the following Sabhath, 
May 28th, he walked ten miles to an appointment 
and preached his first sermon. September 20, 
1828, he was received into the Ohio Conference. 
That was the beginning of a long day of minis- 
terial usefulness. 

His appointments may be classified as follows: 
Three years on circuits, thirteen on districts, two 
in the agency of the Ohio Wesleyan University, 
twenty-eight in stations, and six in retirement. 
He was honored by his conference with an elec- 
tion three times to the General Conference. Dr. 
Gurley was married twice — iu 1835 to Miss Mary 
Walcott, of Columbus. In 1847 he was called to 
part with the wife of his youth. In 1818 he was 
married to Miss Christina Banks, who survives to 
mourn his departure. 

It is worthy of mention that with advancing 
years Dr. Gurley did not decline in the freshness 
and vigor of the preaching of his youth and man- 
hood. At the urgent invitation of old friends he 
visited many of the charges where he had been 
pastor in the early part of his ministry, and 
preached with great acceptability and power. 
During last winter he had an unusual burden for 
souls. He longed to see before his death a glori- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 107 

ous revival in the churches and university of Del- 
aware. Iu family worship he poured out his soul 
in an agony of prayer, as never before, for baptism 
of power upon the churches. During his sleeping 
hours in the night he was preaching, exhorting, 
and laboring at the altar, leading penitent seekers 
to Christ. He said, at the very beginning of his 
last sickness, "All my earthly business is well 
arranged. I have no desire to get well, unless I 
can have strength to preach the gospel. 1 believe 
my work is done. I desire rest." 

Rev. Thomas J. Givens died in Potosi, Mis- 
souri, September 1, 1835. He said in class-meet- 
ing, the last time, " If called now to die, I shall 
go right to heaven." "I am glad the doctor said I 
must die. I feel willing to risk my soul on the 
evidence that I have now. I would not exchange 
the peace that I have now for kingdoms or em- 
pires." 

Rev. William Gurley, father of Rev. L. B. Gur- 
ley, D. D., was born in "Wexford, Ireland, March 
12, 1757. He came to America many years ago. 
When eighty-six years old, he could read the 
Bible without glasses. He said in love-feast, 
"Thirty-one thousand and sixty days have passed 
over my head since I have been a traveler*in this 
vale of tears." He died in 1848. He bid each 



108 LAST WORDS AND 

member of his family farewell, and then raising 
his eyes toward heaven he said, "What a beauti- 
ful country is heaven ! I see God." He died in 
the ninety-first year of his age. 

Rev. Samuel Gilbert was born in Connecticut, 
in the year 1818, and died August 1, 1866. Dur- 
ing prayer, in his sick-room, he shouted aloud and 
said, "This house is Obed-Edom, where the ark 
of the Lord rested. It is the gate of heaven. 
Heaven has come down on earth, and the angels 
are here. This disease is drawing my body down 
to earth, but Jesus is drawing my soul up to 
heaven. Is this dying? It is felicity. Oh, how 
precious is my Jesus. Glory, hallelujah !" 

Rev. Elihu Greene was born July 28, 1814, in 
Madison County, Kentucky. He was blessed with 
the care, prayers, and guidance of a pious mother 
from his earliest infancy. In 1837 he was con- 
verted, and at the session of the Kentucky Con- 
ference, held in Danville, in 1838, he was received 
on trial. He was just closing his year's w r ork 
when arrested by the fever which terminated his 
death. When asked, in reference to his approach- 
ing change of worlds, if he was afraid to die, he 
replied, "No," and added, — 

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eye 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
Where my possessions lie." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 109 

The day before his departure he aroused from a 
slumber and suug the hymn beginning, — 

"When I close my eyes in death," etc. 

He then remarked, "I am going straight to heav- 
en," and died Sunday morning, September 10, 1843. 

Rev. William Gaddis, a traveling elder in the 
Rock River Conference, died in Lafayette, Stark 
County, Illinois, May 8, aged sixty-seven years. 

He was born in Ireland, where he was con- 
verted, and united with the Wesleyan Methodists 
when fifteen years of age. He was licensed to 
preach when twenty-one. Thus Father Gaddis 
served the church in the capacity of preacher, local 
and traveling, for nearly fifty years. To the church 
he was distinguished by a ceaseless activity and 
untiring zeal for the cause of his God. His motto 
was, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
with thy might." The night before his death he 
was asked by Dr. Hoisted, his son-in-law, what 
his prospects were beyond the grave. He re- 
plied promptly, "Good, good!" Many good 
things might be said of the deceased ; but his 
record is on high, where we doubt not he rests 
from his labors. These were among his last 
words, "Happy dying! Going home to Jesus! 
Farewell!" 

Rev. Hiram Gearing, of Arkansas, Ky., is 



110 LAST WORDS AND 

dead. I have no data by which I can determine 
anything in reference to his parents, early life, or 
conversion. During his illness he appeared 
resigned and happy. More than once he requested 
me to tell his brethren of the Ohio, Michigan, and 
Arkansas conferences, "I die at my post, in 
sight of heaven. Victory ! victory ! victory ! I 
have the victory over the last enemy. O death, 
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic- 
tory?" 

Rev. Henry Forest Green died May 6, at 
the residence of his father, in Bainbridge, Ross 
County, Ohio, aged twenty- six years. He was 
born in Somerset, Ohio, February 18, 1830. He 
was received into the Ohio Conference at Spring- 
field, in the fall of 1851. "Oh," said he, "eternity 
opens up before my mind to-day as it never did 
before; it seems as though the veil was being now 
removed. Tell my brethren of the Ohio Confer- 
ence that the gospel which I have preached to 
others is able to save me also." His last words 
were, "Glory! glory! glory!" 

Rev. Alfred Griffith, was born in 1798, near 
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and was licensed to 
preach in 1818. When an old veteran, enfeebled 
in body and mind, in the solitude of his room his 
voice was heard pleading with God in prayer, and 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. Ill 

calling np the reminiscences of his earlier minis- 
terial life. To his conference he sent his parting 
injunction, "Tell them to preach Christ, the divine 
Son of God." His sweet last utterance was, — 
April 14, 1871, as he placed his arms around the 
neck of his loving daughter, — "Lord, bless my 
child;" and he calmly fell asleep in Jesus, aged 
eighty-eight years. 

Ret. John Griffin was among the cherished and 
honored fathers of the conference — loved for his 
virtues and respected for his successful services. 
Some weeks before his death he observed, "I 
think I shall not get well. I have been an un- 
profitable servant." He then added, "My hope is 
in God. I am willing to live and labor and 
sutler if it be his will. But still, I am ready 
to go. I feel that all will be well." He then pro- 
ceeded to give directions in regard to his funeral, 
and observed, as to the notice of his death, that he 
wanted but little said. "My way is clear ! " On 
the morning of his death, being sensible that his 
time had come, reviving a little, he addressed his 
weeping companion and family thus : "Farewell ! 
I am going! Farewell, neighbors! All is well! 
All is well!" He died December 22, 1844, aged 
sixty years. 

Freeborn Garrettson was born in the State of 
Maryland, in the year 1752. In the twenty- third 



112 LAST WORDS AND 

year of his age, in 1775, he was made a partaker 
of the pardoning mercy of God in Christ Jesus. 
In the same year, 1775, he joined the conference 
of itinerant Methodist ministers. In his last sick- 
ness he suffered much, but bore his sufferings with 
Christian patience and resignation. The last sen- 
tence he was heard to utter on the night preceding 
his death was, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Al- 
mighty. Hallelujah! hallelujah!" Thus ended 
the days of this holy man of God and successful 
minister of the Lord Jesus, in the seventy-sixth 
year of his age, and the fifty-second of his itiner- 
ant ministry, at the house of his intimate friend, 
George Suckley, Esq., in ISTew York, September 
26, 1827. 

Rev. George Adam Guething, the co-laborer of 
Otterbein and Boehm, died in Maryland, June 28, 
1812, aged 71 years, 4 months, and 22 days. 

After forty years in the ministry, as he was re- 
turning to his home, in Washington County, Md., 
from Baltimore, where he had gone to visit the 
great and good Otterbein, he tarried over the night 
at Mr. Snyder's, about thirty miles from the city. 
Early the next morning he rested from a severe 
illness which had overtaken him during the night. 
After talking with his companion and Mrs. Sny- 
der about the immortality of bliss to come, he be- 
came silent for a moment, and then said, "I feel as 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 113 

though my end had come. Hark! hark! who 

spoke? Whose voice is this I hear? Light! 

light! what golden light! Please help me out of 

this bed." This being done, he continued, "!N~ow 

let us sing, — 

'Come, thou long-expected moment, 
Come, thou Spirit, from on high. 
'lis thy call, my Lord and Master, 
How shall I express my joy? 
When thy grace and power of love 
Bid me rise to climes above? ' " 

He then sunk on his knees and offered a prayer 
of deepest tenderness, asking the Master to crown 
his love and mercy so abundant to him through 
all his life, by at once receiving him into glory. 
Being helped into his bed, in a few minutes he was 
at rest. 

Rev. William H. Goode, D. D., was born in 
Warren County, Ohio, June 19, 1807, and died in 
Richmond, Indiana, December 16, 1879. 

On Thanksgiving-day, alluding to his three 
years' affliction, he said, "I would not change it if 
I had to live it over again. I would not have any 
of my sufferings less than they have been. This 
providence is mysterious; I do not understand it. 
But I know it is all right, and — placing his hand 
on his heart — I feel it to be so. I am only wait- 
ing to be called by my heavenly Father, to pass 
from suffering to eternal joy. Oh, praise the 



114 LAST WORDS AND 

Lord, I have so much to be thankful for." At 
another time he sung with great clearness, — 

"In heaven above, where all is love, 
There'll be no sorrow there." 



He afterward joined with others in singing, 
Also, 



Far from these scenes of night 
Unbounded glories rise," etc. 



"Rock of ages, cleft for me." 

Still later he exclaimed in a clear voice, "Oh, if 
I had a voice, how I would sing to you." Watch- 
ing the clock he said, "It takes a long time to 
die. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit; receive my 
spirit. I want you all to meet me in heaven." 
He exhorted his unconverted friends to seek re- 
ligion. "Death is not much. This is not home. 
I am going home. Doctor, do you give me up ? " 
"Yes; the end is near," he replied. "I am ready," 
and then waving his hand with indescribable 
pathos, said to all, "Good-by. I see and know you 
all." Then inquiring the time, he fell asleep in 
Jesus. 

Robert Gaddis, sen., father of Rev. Maxwell P. 
Gaddis, sen., of the Cincinnati Conference, w r as a 
native of Ireland. He came with his family to 
America in the year 1801, and settled in Lancas- 
ter County, Pennsylvania. In 1816 he came to 
Ohio, and in 1819 united with the Methodist 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 115 

Episcopal Church, on Eagle Creek, and belonged 
to the first class at Samuel Fitch's, of which the 
late Bishop Bascom was the leader. He was for 
twenty -five years a firm believer in the doctrine 
and polity of the Methodist Church, and for many 
years enjoyed the blessings of that "perfect love 
which casteth out all fear." 

He was always regular in his attendance to the 
means of grace, until he was taken with his last 
illness. He was a great lover of class-meeting. 
His last illness was dropsy, in which he lin- 
gered about four months, during which period he 
suffered much, but bore all with Christian pa- 
tience and resignation. His constant testimony 
was, " 'Though he sla}' me, yet will I trust in him.' 
Sot a doubt, not a cloud. I am just waiting for 
my discharge." The day before he died he said, 
"That is the hardest day's work that I have done. 
But now the roughest of the journey is over; I 
shall soon go home." 

About one week before his death he was visited 
by all his children for the last time. He request- 
ed his son (Rev. M. P. Gaddis) to read for him 
the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and then sing 
the hymn commencing, 

"My span of life will soon be done," etc., 

And to pray ; after which he called all his children 
around him and gave them his dying charge and 



116 LAST WORDS AND 

blessing, and told them how to live to be prepared 
to die. The night before his death he appeared 
considerably better than he had been for some time. 
His mind was clearer and his memory brighter than 
usual, until sometime on the morning of the 7th. 
He then grew much worse, and suffered extremely 
until about one o'clock, when he was heard to 
say, "Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly,;" from 
which time he became easier. Near evening he 
sat up some, during which time a friend came in 
and asked him if he knew Jesus Christ. He an- 
swered, "Oh, yes; I know Jesus Christ. I am 
Jesus Christ's free man ; he has bought me with 
his blood." 

Rev. Joseph Gatch. "I am on the Rock, the 
everlasting Rock. I have beem wonderfully sus- 
tained. Sing at my funeral, — 

"Joyfully, joyfully, onward I move, 
Bound for the land of bright spirits above." 

Rev. Jacob Gruber was born of German par- 
ents, in Pennsylvania, February 3, 1778. He 
commenced traveling in the year 1800. A most 
singular and extraordinary man. 

A few hours before he expired, he inquired of a 
preacher at his bedside whether he thought it 
possible for him to survive through another night, 
and was answered in the negative, whereupon he 
exclaimed, "Then, to-morrow I shall spend my 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 117 

first Sabbath in the church above, where congre- 
gations ne'er break up, and Sabbaths never end.' 
He had expressed a wish that when he was about 
to depart, if the time could be ascertained, a few 
brethren and sisters should be present and "see 
him off," and all join and sing in full chorus, — 

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 
And cast a wishful eye," etc. 

This, his last wish, was gratified. Perceiving that 
he was fast sinking, he was asked if he felt that 
he was on the banks of Jordan, to which, with 
great difficulty, he replied, (and these were his last 
words,) "Ifeel that 1 am." 

Rev. John Gadbis, brother of Rev. M. P. Gad- 
dis, sen., of the Cincinnati Conference, was born in 
Ireland, and emigrated to America with his par- 
ents in 1801. He was converted at a Methodist 
camp-meeting in eastern Pennsylvania; and after 
his union with the Methodist Episcopal Church 
he endured severe persecution from his parents, 
who were of Scotch-Irish descent, and had been 
brought up in the Seceder Church. But he re- 
mained steadfast and immovable. 

The reader of these memoirs will not think it 
strange when I tell him that my soul is linked to 
that dear brother with more than human cords. 
His conversion to God was remarkable; and soon 
after, he was made the instrument of the conver- 



118 LAST WORDS AND 

sion of my dear mother; and through her tears 
and prayers I was early brought to the Savior. 
Nine of the children are saved with father and 
mother, and the remaining three sons and one 
daughter "are coming, coming!" 

He seemed to have a presentiment of his ap- 
proaching end. He requested my brother David 
to accompany him to the grave of our parents. 
On reaching the place he knelt for some time 
in secret prayer, until his soul was filled with 
transports of heavenly joy ; and then, with one 
arm extended over each of their respective rest- 
ing-places, he exclaimed in an audible voice, 
"Father, mother, w T e are coming, we are coming, 
we are coming ! I shall be with you soon." With 
expressions like these he held himself in sweet 
communion with God for some time, and then 
said, "This is my last visit to the tomb of my 
parents." And so it proved; for in two weeks 
afterward he was called from earth to real- 
ize all his fonds hopes, — the mortal had put on 
immortality, death was swallowed up of victory, 
and he passed over to the realm and home of eter- 
nal life. 

"When this our short and fleeting life is o'er, 
We die to live, and live to die no more." 

Elijah Gale finished his course September 9, 
1847, aged thirty-one years. He was a native of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 119 

Windham, Vermont, where at the age of fifteen 
he sought and obtained the pardon of his sins 
through a crucified Eedeemer. Constantly in- 
quiring in the language of a subdued soul, "Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do?" he soon received 
a commission from the Holy Ghost to preach the 
gospel of the Son of God. Those loved him most 
who knew him best. Pausing, in full prospect of 
the glory that awaited him, as if in the strait 
which held a holy apostle in suspense between a 
desire to depart and be with Christ, and his love 
for a struggling church and a perishing world, 
he expressed a wish upon the last Sabbath of his 
life that he might once more invite sinners to 
Christ, adding, "It seems as though they would 
believe now, and seek the Savior." He died in 
peace, beloved and lamented. "How many fall as 
suddenly, not as safe!" 

H 

Bishop Elijah Heddinq was born in Duchess 
County, New York, in the year 1780, and died 
April 9, 1852. He was for fifty-one years an itin- 
erant minister, and for twenty-eight a bishop 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When 
attacked suddenly, he said to Rev. Mr. Vin- 
cent, "I expected to die this afternoon. I fully 
believed the hour of my departure had come. 



120 LAST WORDS AND 

But, oh, how mercifully I was sustained. I 
had no fear of death or eternity. I felt, through 
the merits of Jesus alone, my Savior, that 
it would be well with me, and knew that if my 
work was done, and God ordered my discharge, it 
was right, all right." 

After his second attack he said, "In all this the 
enemy was not permitted to come nigh me; but at 
the end of this period Satan attacked me violently. 
But I have conquered." In May, 1851, he dic- 
tated the following: "When the storm first burst 
upon me, and the wind howled, and the waves 
roared, and the surges beat upon my head, and the 
deep yawned, nature said, 'A shattered, ruined 
wreck you are; the proud waves will soon come 
over you.' But by faith I saw Jesus walking on 
the water, and said, 'It is I, be not afraid !' One 
night when I could not sleep, being on my knees 
in prayer, I was led to see more clearly than I had 
ever seen before the goodness of God in afflicting 
his children, and I was able to sing of mercy and 
of judgment, 

'God is Jehovah in the rain and sunshine, 
s Nor less his goodness in the storm and thunder ; 

Mercy and judgment both proceed from kindness, 
Infinite kindness.' 

"Jehovah-jireh! Oh, what a name ! Oh, how 
he provides, and at what a price ! 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 121 

'His dying crimson like a robe, 
Spreads o'er his body on the tree ; 

Then I am dead to all the globe, 
And all the globe is dead to me.' 

"More than fifty years ago God led me to give up 
the world, in the common acceptation of that 
phrase. Long ago I gave up earthly friends and 
earthly interests, and hopes, to go and preach 
Christ's gospel ; but now I am called to give up 
the church on earth. But my heavenly Father has 
been saying to my heart ever since this trouble 
came upon me, 'Be still, and know that I am 
God;' and I am quiet. I have long believed the 
promises, but I realize them more than I ever did 
before. 

'His word of grace is sure and strong, 

As that which builds the skies; 
The voice which rolls the stars along, 

Speaks all the promises.' 

Nearly sixty years ago, a little before I found 
Christ, I was in imminent danger, and expected 
to drop into hell in live minutes. Bat in the dan- 
ger of this sickness I felt that hell had no claim 
upon me, for Christ had redeemed me. 

'When I survey the wondrous cross 

On which the Prince of Glory died, 
My richest gain I count but loss, 
And pour contempt on all my pride.' 

God has wrought this change; no one else in the 
universe could have done it." 



122 LAST WORDS AND 

At another time he broke out in the exclama- 
tion, "Oh, what a wonder it is that such a poor, 
worthless, hell- deserving wretch as I am should 
ever be saved ! What a mercy ! What wondrous 
love! It's all of Christ! What could we do or 
what could we hope for without him ? How could 
we preach? How could we pray? How could 
we live? How could we die without the Savior ?" 

On another occasion he said, "I have been sing- 
ing. In my early days I was quite a singer, and 
I have received a great blessing while singing, 

'He dies. The friend of sinner's dies." 

He continued repeating the hymn until he came 
to the third verse, when he commenced singing 
with a feeble voice and deep emotion, — 

"Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell 
How high your great deliverer reigns ; 
Sing, how he spoiled the hosts of hell, 
And led the monster, Death, in chains.' 

I do not depend so much upon past experience, 
nor present states of feeling, as upon a clear, in- 
ward witness like the shining light, that 'Jesus 
died for me ;' that he loves me and owns me for 
his child. I have settled peace, and an assurance 
that the Savior is mine." 

At another time he said, "I have labored fifty 
years in the cause of Christ, and have had, espe- 
cially in my earlier ministry, many hard appoint- 
ments. I have had many privations to endure, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 123 

and have suffered a good deal, and am now so 
worn out with labors and age that I shall soon go 
to my long home. But, after all, I can say, — 

'This all my hope and all my plea, 
For me the Savior died.' 

"Brethren, while you have life and strength, 
preach Christ; call poor, lost sinners to repent- 
ance. Bring them to the Savior ! My time of 
labor is now past, and I am going to my rest. A 
few years since my oldest sister died. She was 
converted to God at the time I was, and had been 
a faithful Christian for more than fifty years. Her 
last words were, — 

'Forever here my rest shall be, 

Close to thy bleeding side; 
This all my hope, and all my plea, 

For me the Savior died.' 

This, too, is my dying testimony. I don't know 
how long God will spare me; but, brethren, 
whether you are present or not, or whether I can 
speak or not, that is now, and I trust will be my 
dying testimony. All my dependence is in the 
atonement. I depend alone on Christ, and feel 
that he accepts me. I have no doubt of it. I am 
as conscious of it as I possibly can be of anything. 
I need help from heaven every moment, and I 
have it. I feel that I have it. Not a day, not an 
hour, not a moment, have I had any doubt or a 
tormenting fear of death. I have been at times 



124 LAST WORDS AND 

so that it was doubtful whether I would live five 
minutes, but all was bright aud glorious. To-day 
I have been wonderfully blessed. I have served 
God for more than fifty years. I have generally 
had peace. But I never saw such glory before, — 
such light, such clearness, such beauty ! I want 
to tell it to all the world. Oh, had I a trumpet 
voice, — 

'Then would I tell to sinners round 
What a dear Savior I have found.' 

But I can not. I never shall preach again—never 
shall go over the mountains and through the val- 
leys, the woods and the swamps, to tell of Jesus 
any more. But, oh, what glory I feel! It shines 
and burns all through me. It came upon me like 
the rushing of a mighty wind, as on the day of 
Pentecost." 

On Sabbath, to Bishop Janes, he said, "One 
thing I wish to say now, lest I should not be able 
to say it at any future time, and that is, that God 
has- bee u wonderfully good to me. His goodness 
has been overwhelming, — overwhelming. Could 
I live, I should desire to do so only that I might 
preach Christ and him crucified. Oh, to preach 
Christ! I would rather preach Christ anywhere — 
on the hardest circuits — than to have all the 
wealth and honors of the kingdoms of this world. 
Fifty-two years ago last September I gave up all 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 125 

to God, and I have never taken back the gift. I 
have always needed the atonement of Christ, and 
have trusted in that alone for the forgiveness of 
all my short-comings. I used to wonder that 
Christ could have mercy on such a poor, miser- 
able sinner as I am, and save me. There was a 
kind of mist over the subject. But within a few 
days all this has been cleared away. I now see 
such goodness and glory, such power, — such power 
[repeating the words with great emphasis] in the 
Redeemer, that there is now no difficulty in it. 
It is all plain now. Since this dreadful disease 
struck me, more than a year ago, I have not had 
one really dark hour, nor pang of guilt." 

When near his end he said, "I have been won- 
derfully sustained, of late, beyond the usual de- 
gree. 

'My suffering-time will soon be o'er ; 
Then will I sigh to weep no more ; 
My ransomed soul shall soar away, 
To sing thy praise in endless day.' 

"I trust in Christ and he does not disappoint me. 
I feel him; I enjoy him, and I look forward to an 
inheritance in his kingdom." Then elevating his 
voice, he exclaimed, "I trust in G>)d and feel safe." 
Then raising both hands he said, scarcely above 
a whisper, "Glory! glory! Glory to God! Glory! 
Glory to God ! Glory ! I have no fear of death 



126 LAST WORDS AND 

whatever." Then placing his hands upon his 
breast he said, "I am happy — filled." 

"When pain o'er my weak flesh prevails, 
With lamb like patience arm my breast; 
When grief my wounded soul assails 
In lowly meekness may I rest.' " 

Subsequently he said, "My God is my best 
friend, and I trust him with all my heart. I have 
trusted him for more than fifty years." Then 
after pausing for breath he added, " 'Because I 
live, ye shall live also.' " "What a promise." 
Soon after, the power of speech failed and the 
weary wheels of life stood still. God be praised 
for this fresh illustration of the majesty and power 
of true religion. 

Rev. Jefferson Hamilton, D. D., of the Church 
South, was born in Worcester County, Massa- 
chusetts, August 22, 1805, and died as Opelika, 
Alabama, December 16, 1874. In 1831 he joined 
the England Conference. He was transferred to 
the Alabama Conference, and stationed in New 
Orleans, in 1839. 

As a preacher, Dr. Hamilton stood in the front 
rank of pulpit-men of his day in the South. After 
forty-five years of active service he died at the 
seat of his conference. Being assured by the doc- 
tor that he must die, he exclaimed, "It is good." 
He then asked, "Where are the brethren?" Quite 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 127 

a number being present he delivered his parting 
message, at the end of which he said, "Say to the 
brethren in conference, 'Hail ! Farewell!" Then 
turning to his wife he said, "I commend my wife 
and children and grandchildren to God and his 
church. They will not fail you in sympathy and 
protection." With regard to myself, I have never 
been a boastful Christian. I have entertained 
humble views of myself, but I do profess to have 
a clear knowledge of the doctrine of salvation by 
faith and a conscious experience that the blood of 
Jesus Christ cleanseth me from all sin. I believe 
that sanctification or holiness is a doctrine taught 
in the Bible, separate and distinct from justifica- 
tion, received and retained by faith and trusting 
these truths, and die and go to God." 

To his grandchildren he sent this message: 
"Tell them never to bring a reflection upon the 
Methodist Church, for in the end it will be found 
to be an important portion of the true church of 
God, and to have translated from earth to heaven 
a vast multitude of souls." 

His labors aud sufferings are now at an end, 
Our prophet, Elijah, is now to ascend. 
My Father ! my Father ! he's going above, 
The chariot of Israel and horseme:i thereof. 

Bishop Leonidas L. Hamline, D. D., LL. D., was 
born in Burlington, Conn., May 10,1797. The late 



128 LAST WORDS AND 

Bishops Janes and Thomson, in their "Affectionate 
Tribute," speak of their colleague's ability in the 
following strong language: 

"He was a gentleman, a scholar, and a Christian 
minister. His person was commanding, his voice 
musical, and his manners engaging. His style 
was faultless and charming. It had clearness, 
energy, purity, and elegance. For choice diction 
and beautiful variety of sentences w^e have never 
met with his equal among his brethren. He rare- 
ly ever used a superfluous word in the pulpit. 
With less brilliancy than Bascom, a less majestic 
sweep of thought than Olin, he had more com- 
pactness than either. His manners were cautious 
and his spirit kind. Bishop Hamline is well 
known to the church as a preacher, writer, editor, 
and popular executive officer. When disease and 
infirmities disqualified him for the responsibilities 
of the episcopacy, he resigned that position in 
1852. While editor of the Ladies' Repository, he 
sought and found the blessing of 'perfect love,' 
which enabled him to endure his sore and pro- 
tracted affliction, and to triumph over his last 
enemy." 

On September 30, 1855, the bishop made this 
record, "It will be twenty-seven years on the 5th 
of October since I entered into the 'glorious liber- 
ty of the sons of God.' In six months afterward 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 129 

I received license to exhort; in a year, license to 
preach. 

"In 1830 I was called to labor on Short Creek 
Circuit; in 1831 on Mount Vernon. In 1832 I 
was received on trial in the Ohio Conference, — in 
1834 and 1835, — at Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati. In 
18361 was ordained an elder by Bishop Soule, and 
elected assistant editor of the Western Christian 
Advocate, and in 1840 was elected editor of the 
Ladies 7 Repository. In 1844 I was ordained super- 
intendent, which office I resigned in 1862. I 
have now had four years' rest, and three years on 
the superannuated list of the Ohio Conference ; 
and now, my God, I make a new dedication 
to thee," etc. 

In October he says, "I have enjoyed perfect 
love much of the time since 1842. I have now a 
'clear witness that I am cleansed from all sin.'" 

In January, 1856, he said, "I shall soon go over 
Jordan." From this day the bishop's health 
gradually declined. 

In 1858, when it was thought he was dying, he 
said, "How real! What a verity! Peace as a 
river, an ocean. What a rush of power! 

'Oh, would he more of heaven bestow, 
And let the vessel break.' 

"I am now old and gray -headed. My locks are 
almost white. I am feeble and sore-broken, yet 



130 LAST WORDS AND 

calm and peaceful, pausing on this side of the 
river, and all ready for the fields of light and 
glory." 

In 1860 he wrote to a friend, "I am nearing my 
heavenly home. I have peace with God and all 
mankind." 

In 1865 he wrote, "I feel a wonderful peace per- 
vading my whole being. Christ is so near as I 
can not describe. I dwell not in a world of glory 
but a world of love." Among his last records, on 
the fly-leaf of his hymn-book, are the following 
original lines : 

"Held back by sin, and guilt and shame, 
Yet trusting in thy blood and name, 
And in thy word (though halt and lame), 
O Lamb of God, I come ! " 

To a sister who came in to see him he raised 
his hand and said, "Pardon, purity, heaven." A 
volume might be written of words of faith and 
hope and good cheer that fell at different times 
from the lips of that good and truly great man of 
God — Bishop Hamline. 

Rev. Jeremiah Hill was born in the city of 
Providence, Rhode Island, October 2, 1816, and 
died in Ohio, in 1836. When told that he must 
die he said, "I am ready." Rev. Mr. Bruce, his 
colleague, writes thus : "I hastened to his bedside, 
and found him exhorting those around him to 
prepare for death. When he recognized me he 






OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 131 

said, 'Brother Bruce, do you think I am going to 
die?' I replied, 'Yes; you can not live many 
minutes.' 'Then,' said he, 'I wish you to preach 
my funeral from 'Blessed are the dead which die 
in the Lord,' etc. (Revelations xiv. 13), and ex- 
claimed, 'Blessed be God for his unspeakable gift ! 
Glory! glory!'" 

Rev. G. W. Harris was born in Frederick 
County, Virginia, November 14, 1823, and died 
near Springfield, Ohio, November 5, in his thirty- 
ninth year. 

He was a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- 
versity. About the time he graduated he was li- 
censed to preach. In 1850 he was admitted into 
the Ohio Conference. In 1852 he was united in 
marriage to Miss Lizzie Kenaga. His last ap- 
pointment was at Oxford. His last two years 
were spent in the town of Lebanon. 

During his last hours he gave his friends all the 
evidence they could ask that he was ready for his 
change — from earth to glory. 

Rev. Solomon Howard, D. D., LL. D., son of 

Cyrus and Lucy Howard, was born in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, November 14, 1811. He was received into 
the Methodist Episcopal Church by Rev. John 
Stewart, in 1828, and in 1831 was licensed to ex- 
hort. He graduated in 1833, at Augusta College, 



132 LAST WORDS AND 

Kentucky, and in the same year, at Germantown, 
Kentucky, was licensed to preach. 

He joined the Ohio Conference at Zanesville, in 
1835, and was received into full connection and 
ordained deacon by Bishop Roberts, at Xenia, in 
1837. He was ordained elder by Bishop Soule, at 
Cincinnati, in 1839. From 1843 to 1845 he was 
principal of the Ohio Wesleyan University ; from 
1845 to 1849 he was principal of Springfield Fe- 
male College; and during the two years following 
principal of the Springfield High-school. In 1852 
he was elected president of the Ohio University, 
at Athens, where he remained for twenty years. 

He was united in marriage with Margaretta 
Garroutte, of Highland County, Ohio, by Rev. 
James Quinu, in 183b*. He was married a second 
time to Mrs. Eliza Varian, of Piqua, Ohio, by Rev. 
James B. Finley, in 1841. They had two chil- 
dren, a daughter, (the wife of Rev. D. J. Starr, of 
the Cincinnati Conference,) and a son, who was 
drowned at Athens, in 1860. 

As a preacher, he was thoughtful, earnest, and 
forcible. Although he possessed none of the 
graces of delivery, he was heard with attention ; 
and his discourses often produced a deep impres- 
sion. But it was as an educator that he was most 
widely known. To the work of teaching he de- 
voted the ripest and best years of his life. The 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 133 

degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon 
him by Miami University, and the degree of Doc- 
tor of Laws by Iowa State University. In 1856 
he was honored by his brethren of the Ohio Con- 
ference with an election to the General Confer- 
ence. 

His health was unusually vigorous until within 
a few years of his death, when it began slowly but 
steadily to decline. In 1872 he resigned the pres- 
idency of the university and removed to College 
Hill, the home of his boyhood. His health still 
failing, he went, in May last, to California, with 
the hope that the climate of the Pacific coast 
might restore him; but in vain. He continued 
to decline rapidly until the 11th of August, when 
he calmly fell asleep. He was buried at the ceme- 
tery of San Jose, in which city he died. 

His life was one of noble endeavor, and eager, 
realizing faith. The struggle is over, and now 
his faith has grasped its reward. He stands one 
of that countless, blood-washed throng who are 
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine 
linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Rev. James II. Hopkins was born December 6, 
1804, in Huntingdon, Luzerne County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and at the age of four years was brought by 
his parents to Ohio, where they finally settled in 



134 LAST WORDS AND 

what is now Marion Township, Morgan County. 
He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
1821, was licensed to exhort by Samuel P. Shaw 
in 1831, and was licensed to preach in 1833 by 
John Ferree. He was married to Jane Alderman 
in 1822, and, on the 28th of August preceding his 
death, they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of 
their wedding-day, in company with eight chil- 
dren, thirteen grandchildren, and one great-grand- 
child. He preached at Pleasant Point on the 
evening of December 16th, from Exodus xix. 10, 
11, went home with Brother Lafayette Eggleston, 
and spent the evening in cheerful conversation. 
About nine o'clock he retired to bed apparently 
in good health. At about half-past ten o'clock he 
called Brother Eggleston, who, upon going to 
him, found him in a dying condition, as was sup- 
posed, from the breaking of an abcess in his lungs. 
He said to Brother Eggleston, "I guess I will 
have to go — I am going." When asked if all was 
well he said, "All is well." He died December 
16, 1872. 

Rev. Christopher Henry Hoevner, a native of 
Germany, was licensed to preach in 1844. He 
joined the Ohio Conference in 1845, and was trans- 
ferred to the New York Conference in 1849. In 
1851 he was sent to Newark, New Jersey, where 
he died February 24, 1852. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 135 

A few days before he died he remarked with 
heavenly sweetness, "Oh, how glorious is this per- 
fect love of God shed abroad in my heart by the 
Holy Ghost. I am ready to go home. You 
think Brother Hoevner is going to die. Xo,he is 
going to live. Give yourselves up to the ways of 
the Lord, for they are wonderful, and have a glo- 
rious end." 

Rev. Harvey Husted was born in Alford, 
Massachusetts, February 2, 1803. On the morn- 
ing of October 4, 1871, he arose early ; and as 
usual, his spirit was bouyant and happy. He left 
his room singing as usual. But on this occasion 
his song was prophetic. Its words were: 

"My latest sun is sinking fast, 
My race is nearly ran ; 
My strongest trials now are past, 
My triumph is begun." 

As he was going to hi3 barn his voice was heard 
joyously ringing out on the frosty air, — 

"Oh, come angel hand, 
Come and around me stand ; 
Oh, bear me away on your snowy wings 
To my immortal home." 

At it3 close he fell, and in twelve hours passed to 
his "immortal home." 

Bev. T. M. Hartley died in the thirty-fourth 
year of his age. "If I must cross Jordan bring 
out the books and we'll square the accounts. 



136 LAST WORDS AND 

Savior, come quickly. The angels are helping me 
through. I'll get through. Good-by." 

Rev. Christian G. Hill. "I think my work is 
done. In other afflictions I have dreamed of 
preaching and being at meeting in God's service ; 
but in this sickness my mind does not dwell at all 
on the subject, even in sleep. If my work is fin- 
ished, the will of the Lord be done. God mani- 
fested in the flesh and Christ crucified is my only 
ground of confidence. Here is something that 
seems tangible to my faith, and upon which my 
soul can rest." 

Rev. Mr. Henderson, of Baltimore, just before 
he died, sung the entire hymn commencing, 

"Though troubles assail, and dangers affright, 
Though friends shall all fail, and foes all unite, 
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, 
This answers all questions, the Lord will provide." 

Rev. Uriel Haw was the son of Rev. James 
{law, who was perhaps the first Methodist mis- 
sionary sent by the church to Kentucky. Uriel 
was born May 13, 1799. Two days before his 
death his friends thought him dying. One asked 
him what were his prospects. u They are/' 
said he, "as I told you before. There is not a 
cloud. All js bright and clear. Glory to God! 
All is well ! All is well ! " This he frequently 
repeated during his sickness. O blessed Savior, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 137 

how I love thee! I love thee because thou hast 
redeemed me; I love thee because thou hast pre- 
served me. blessed Lord, thou hast delivered 
me from all fear ot* death." His last words were, 
" Jesus, I come; Jesus." Earth heard it not, but 
Heave u did. 

Rev. H. Y. Humelbaugh was born iu Adams 
County, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1835, and died at 
Chambersburg on the morning of Tuesday, Octo- 
ber 13, 1868, in the triumphs of the faith of the 
gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Mr. Humelbaugh was converted to God at the 
age of twenty years, and shortly thereafter entered 
upon the work of the Christian ministry in the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ. He ap- 
peared to have had a presentiment of his ap- 
proaching dissolution ; for he told his family and 
several other persons, during the previous six 
months, that he did not expect to live long. 

A brother visitiug him early in the evening, six 
hours prior to his death, found him somewhat bet- 
ter. To the inquir}- if he still enjoyed the pres- 
ence of the Savior, he replied, "Oh, yes; I am 
happy. Oh, if I could have had strength I would 
have shouted the praise of God. Before you go I 
must tell you the vision I had about two weeks 
ago. I was alone one day when four angels came 
and stood there at the foot of my bed, bearing in 



138 LAST WORDS AND 

their hands a beautiful white lounge. After 
standing awhile and looking upon me, they went 
up again." 

Said I to him, "Are you certain you were not 
sleeping?" 

"Yes ; I was wide awake ; I tell you I did real- 
ly see them." The visitor was informed by Mrs. 
Humelbaugh that at the time referred to she 
after a short absence from the room entered and 
found him with closed eyes, and very pale. Sup- 
posing him to be dead, she called to him. Open- 
ing his eyes he said, "Were you frightened?" 
"Yes; I thought you were dead." He then told 
her of the vision of angels he had seen, and added, 
"I thought I was dying, for I felt my heart break- 
ing at the sight." About nine o'clock he was 
found sinking. The doctors having been to see 
him, he wished to know what they said of his 
case, and upon again entering he inquired, "Doc- 
tor, what do you think of my case?" "You are 
very ill, sir," they replied. He exclaimed, "Well, 
this is not what I expected ; but it is all right. I 
have tried to live a religious life, and now I can 
say, Saved by grace! Saved by the grace of 
God!" After a half hour's apparent struggle 
with the surprise occasioned by the unexpected 
approach of death he exclaimed, "0 Jesus, re- 
ceive my spirit. Glory to God for a religion that 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 139 

saves in a dying-hour! Home! Yes, — blessed 
be God, I'm in the old ship, and sailing for — glory 
to God ! Glory to God for experimental religion. 
Thank God, it saves in a dying-hour." Turning 
to his weeping wife he said, "0 Fanny, weep 
not for me, I will soon rest — forever rest from all 
my troubles. Oh, lead a holy life. Train up the 
children in the fear of God, — in experimental re- 
ligion, — and tell them to be humble. O doctor, 
what a beautiful land lies just before my eyes." 
Then in holy ecstacy, and with uplifted hands and 
eyes, he exultingly exclaimed, "O king of ter- 
rors! End of time ! Oh, all is bright ! I'll soon 
be at home." Then he faintly sung, — 

"I'm nearer, nearer home, nearer to my happy home." 

Resting awhile after this effort he said, "Fare- 
well, pulpit; this is the end of Brother Humel- 
baugh's preaching," — addressing the words to 
those standing around his bed. His farewell to 
his children was very touching. Kissing his little 
son he said, "God bless you, my little boy." 

Among his last words were the following: 
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow ' 
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; 
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." So 
near was he to the point of his departure that he 
omitted, "I will fear no evil ;" but when a friend 
quoted the whole sentence correctly he repeated 



140 LAST WORDS AND 

it slowly after him, and then, as if inspired with 
its precious truth, exclaimed, "They comfort me ■ 
yes, blessed be God, they comfort me." Laying 
his hands upon his heart he said, "0 Jesus, 
precious Jesus, receive my soul ! Farewell, 
brethren ! " 

Rev. Erwin House was born at Worthington, 
nine miles north of Columbus, Ohio, February 17, 
1824. In 1849 he was granted license as a local 
minister, and in 1865 he was admitted into the 
Cincinnati Conference. As early as 1837 Mr. 
House commenced contributing to the newspaper 
press, and in 1847 was employed as assistant editor 
of the Ladies' Repository. From March, 1851, to 
December, 1852, he had editorial charge of this 
magazine. 

His first published work, "Sketches for the 
Young," a 16mo. of 320 pages, appeared in 1847, 
and rapidly passed through five editions. Later, 
he published the following works : "The Mission- 
ary in Many Lands," "The Homilist," the "Script- 
ure Cabinet," and the "Sunday-school Hand- 
book." 

"Bishop Wiley said he had known Brother 
House intimately, had been in the office alongside 
of him for eight years. To know him was to 
love him — one could not help loving him. lie 
was ready to die. The summons came, and in a 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 141 

moment, in the twinkling of an eye, he was gone 
from us. He closed his eyes on earth, he opened 
them in heaven." 

Rev. Fletcher Harris, — a native of Granville 
County, North Carolina. His parents were re- 
spectable and pious, and taught him in early life 
the genuine principles of Christianity. In Sep- 
tember, 1811, at a camp-meeting, he sought and 
found the "pearl of great price." 

It is stated by those who attended his bed of 
languishing, that, blessed with the prospect of 
opening glory, he would shout aloud the praises 
of God. A few days prior to his death, being 
supported in his bed, he preached to those present 
his last sermon, taking for his text, ''Receive us, we 
have wronged no man," immediately after which 
he shook hands with all around, bidding them an 
affectionate farewell. He then said, "Glory to 
God, Jesus smiles and bids me come. Victory, 
victory ! " A friend present said, "Brother Har- 
ris, this is not dying." "No," said he, "it is liv- 
ing forever!" Then, turning to his weeping 
brother, he said, "Tell the preachers at conference 
that I died in the triumphs of faith ; that my last 
doctrine is, free salvation." 

Rev. James J. Houseweart, a member of the 
Baltimore Annual Conference, departed this life 



142 LAST WORDS AND 

in the thirty-third year of his age. He was born 
in New Jersey, August 15, 1806. 

On the morning of the day of his death he 
quoted a part of the fourteenth chapter of John, 
and said that he felt an assurance that in his 
Father's house a mansion was prepared for him. 
Now his faith was greatly increased, and his 
spirit arose above all fears of death and the grave. 
"All is well," he exclaimed; "all is well for time 
and eternity. I feel that Christ is with me." 
When his voice failed him and his tongue could 
no longer give utterance to the feelings of his 
heart, his eyes — his whole countenance beaming 
with joy — attested that the Savior was with him, 
and that he had complete victory over "the last 
enemy." 

"Eternity and time 

Met for a moment here ; 
From earth to heaven, a scale sublime, 
Rested on either sphere, 
Whose steps a saintly figure trod, 
By Death's cold hand, led home to God. 

He landed in our view, 

Midst flaming hosts above ; 
Whose ranks stood silent while he drew 
Nigh to the throne of love, 
And meekly took the lowest seat, 
Yet nearest his Redeemer's feet. 

Thrill'd with ecstatic awe, 
Entranc'd our spirits fell, 
And saw — yet wist not what they saw ; 
And heard — no tongue can tell, 
What sounds the ear of rapture caught, 
What glory fill'd the eye of thought." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 143 

Rev. Emanuel Hall was born in Ritchie Coun- 
ty, West Virginia, January, 1824, and died in 
Anderson, Iowa, March 29, 1880. He called to 
his wife and said, "Rosa, is all right?" "Yes, all 
is right." He then repeated, " 'I am the resurrec- 
tion and the life: he that believeth in me, though 
he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever 
lieveth and believeth in me shall never, never, 
never die. Eelievest thou this/ Rosa?" to which 
he added, "Amen, and amen." After a moment's 
silence he said, "I am that I am. Glory be to the 
Father! glory be to the Son ! and glory be to the 
Holy Ghost ! Amen, amen." To his son he said, 
"Willie, I fall as the King's watchman. The camp 
is ready. March on; march on." This remark 
had a peculiar meaning to his wife and son, as it 
found its explanation in their reading and study 
in connection with the tabernacle and camp of 
Israel. Soon he said to his wife, "Rosa, come 
nearer to me." She stooped close to his face; and 
he laid his arm upon her neck and kissed her 
again and again, and said, "It's all right. Glory ! 
glory! " Then he called Willie, and gave him a 
like embrace and kiss. The friends in the room 
then joined in singing, "The sweet by and by." 
He joined in the song, keeping the words and the 
tune with clearness and feeling. When all the 
family friends had withdrawn from the song, be- 



144 LAST WORDS AND 

ing overcome with emotion, he still joined with a 
young brother, the leader of the Anderson choir, 
carrying the chorus to the end. Then turning to 
his brother-in-law, the pastor at Anderson, hej 
said, "Wesley, Jesus is my life, and he is become! 
my salvation. Glory! Amen." Then he looked 
at his own hands and said, "Earth to earth, and' 
dust to dust, but the spirit shall return to God 
w T ho gave it. When I am weak, then am I 
strong." 

At this point he began to sink rapidly, and his 
words were fainter and more difficult to be under- 
stood. Within live minutes of his last breath he 
repeated the words, "Unto him that loved us, and 
washed us from our sins in his own blood, and 
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his 
Father; to him be glory and dominion forever 
and ever. Amen. I am the begmnine: and the 
end, the first and the last. Amen, amen." 

Rev. Billy Hibbard was born in Norwich, 
Conn., February 24, 1771. At the age of twelve 
years he appears to have been evangelically con- 
vinced of sin. Contemplated as a Christian, bis 
piety was of the most elevated character. lie in- 
culcated holiness by his sermons and example. 
He maintained a daily communion with God — 
habitual fellowship with the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost. His much-loved motto was, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 145 

"Onward and upward." We have heard him 
ring out that hattle-cry in by-gone years with a 
power and effect that will never fade from our 
memory. To us, indeed, he has long seemed to 
dwell in the Beulah-land, or on the heights of 
Nebo. As a forcible and eloquent preacher, he 
had but few equals in the American pulpit. No 
man could see him in that holy place without 
feeling that a man of God stood before him. His 
chaste, solemn, and dignified deportment, his 
clear, musical, and distinct enunciation, his strong 
yet perspicuous style, his simple but pathetic il- 
lustrations, together with his masterly arguments 
and powerful exhortations, and, most of all, his 
extraordinary gift in prayer, combined to make 
him one of our most popular and useful preach- 
ers. 

On Tuesday evening he requested his family to 
retire as early as possible, as he thought he might 
be able to obtain some rest. To his wife he said 
"Lie down. I think I can sleep; and sleep will 
be precious to me." But soon after he called her 
to him, and proceeded to relate his experience of 
the deep things of G-od, his fervent gratitude for 
his many mercies, and his perfect submission to 
the divine will, and closed by saying, "Last night 
I had such sweet and precious communion with 

God; and now I close my eyes to sleep, hoping 
10 



146 LAST WORDS AND 

that sleeping or waking my thoughts will be of 
him and with him." These were his last words. 
Between midnight and morning she saw a change 
in his countenance. She ran to him and spoke ; 
but before the family could be summoned the sil- 
ver cord was loosed, and the golden bowl was 
broken. Thus, on Wednesday, April, 24th, in 
the fifty-second year of his age, and thirty -fifth of 
his ministry, he calmly sunk asleep in Jesus. 

Rev. Alfred Hanoe was born in New Jersey, 
January 8, 1810. He was licensed to preach in 
1832, and removed to Ohio in 1834. He was ad- 
mitted on trial in the Ohio Conference in 1837, 
and graduated in regular order to the office of an 
elder in 1841. He was taken extremely ill at 
M'Arthurstown, where, on the 29th of January, 
he was visited by his colleague, Brother Arthur, 
who inquired into the state of his mind, to which 
he replied, "All is peace, all is peace. On Friday 
he was worse, and said he must die. He was then 
asked how he felt, to which he replied, "All is 
peace; perfectly happy, perfectly happy." 

Bro. Arthur adds, "The last words I ever heard 
him utter were, 'I would not give the religion I 
now enjoy for ten thousand worlds.'" 

As he drew near his end one said, "You are 
sinking fast," to which he replied, "I am rising! 
rising! 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 147 

Rev. James Harmer was born in Philadelphia 

County, , April 29, 1808. He was licensed 

to exhort in 1835, and to preach in the year fol- 
lowing. During his brief though painful illness 
he observed the most perfect resignation to the 
will of God. Being spoken to in reference to his 
recovery he said, "I am in the hands of the Lord. 
It matters little how the disease may terminate — 
all is well." The flow of his peace seemed unin- 
terrupted, as he was heard to say, "Satan has not 
been permitted to thrust one dart at me since my 
illness — 

1 Not a cloud doth arise to darken my skies, 
Or hide for a moment- my Lord from my eyes.' " 

To one who stood by him and spoke of hia 
sufferings he said, "The sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to be compared with the 
glory that shall be revealed in us." "It doth not 
yet appear what we shall be," &c. On another 
occasion, anticipating the pangs of dissolving na- 
ture, he exultingly exclaimed, 

11 Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are, 
While on his breast I lean my head, 

And breathe my life out sweetly there." 

Death, with him, had lost its sting, and with 
glorious triumph he shouted in the language of 
the victorious Paul, "I have fought a good tight, 
I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : 



148 LAST WORDS AND 

henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
shall give me at that day : and not to me only, 
but unto all them also that love his appearing." 
His confidence was unwavering, which led him to 
exclaim, "I can not fall ; I am on the Rock of 
Ages — I am on the Rock of Ages ! I am safe — I 
am safe ! I know I shall never fall ! " As he 
neared the moment of his dissolution his raptures 
increased, and he appeared to be filled with all the 
fullness of God, saying, "The kingdom of Christ is 
within me — the kingdom of righteousness, peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost." And with like in- 
spired expressions his mind was occupied, to the 
delight and spiritual profit of all who were priv- 
ileged to be with him in his last moments. At 
times he would break out in praises to the Re- 
deemer in songs deeply impressive. 

"When very near his last his wife approached 
him, and observing her in tears he said, "My dear, 
it will not be long ere you follow me ; and Jesus, 
with his own soft hand, will wipe all tears from 
your eyes." Then, on the 8th of September, 1850, 
— in the forty-third year of bis age and the elev- 
enth of his itinerant ministry, — after calling his 
children to him and requesting them to meet 
him in heaven, without a struggle or a groan his 
spirit sweetly passed away to God who gave it. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 149 

Rev. Wesley C. Hudson died in Xew Bruns- 
wick, April '2, 1844, in the thirty-first year of his 
a°:e and tenth of his ministry. Bro. Hudson 
loved the Lord and Methodism. In his early 
ministry he labored as an evangelist, and gave 
continued proof of his ministry. He had an intel- 
lect for thought, a heart for feeling, and a tongue 
for utterance. He was sincere in his profession 
of piety, ardent in his feelings, and preached 
usually in "the demonstration of the Spirit and 
with power. M 

In a letter addressed to a friend dated Septem- 
ber 19, 1843, he says, --Since I parted with you in 
the -leafy dell' my song has been more of mercy 
than of judgment. I have been visited with 
some refreshings from the throne of grace, espe- 
cially on last Sunday afternoon, preaching from 
Exodus xxxii. 9-14. While on the last head, G-od 

baptized us wonderfully. Your [speaking 

of himself] forgot his pains [he had left his bed 
for the pulpit]. His tears flowed freely, and he 
felt to give God all the glory. " Two of his last 
pulpit efforts, in the opinion of one, are likely 
never to be forgotten. 

His end was triumphant, as well as peaceful. 
The afternoon previous to his death he called his 
sister-in-law to his bed and said, "I think I am 
£oin£ "-' On bein^r asked if he felt that Savior 



150 LAST WORDS AND 

he had preached to others supporting him now he 
replied, "He is very precious to me now." After- 
ward he revived, and for some minutes seemed en- 
gaged in prayer. At about seven o'clock he broke 
forth in praises : "Bless the Lord, my soul, and 
magnify his holy name ! Sweet Jesus ! Who 
would not live for Jesus? Who would not sutler 
for Jesus V" And then, clapping his hands, he 
shouted, "Glory to his holy name!" 

He was very happy during the night ; and in 
the afternoon of the next day he said he thought 
he would get home before night. About two 
hours before his death his wife went to his bed, 
thinking he was asleep. He opened his eyes, and 
said, "I am thinking of a sermon I preached 
when I was very happy." Being asked some five 
or ten minutes before his death if Jesus was pre- 
cious he replied, "He is; he is." Just before he 
departed he said to his wife, "I am going home 
to glory, my love, and shall look for you daily." 
When he came to the moment of his departure 
he said, "I am stepping over Jordan." 

Bishop Gilbert Haven was born in Maiden, 
five miles from Boston, Massachusetts, September 
L9, 1821, and, like Elijah of old, at six o'clock on 
the 3d, of January, 1880, went up to heaven "in 
a chariot of fire. He was converted to God at 
exactly eighteen years of age, in Wilbroham 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 151 

Acadamy. In 1842 he went to the Wesleyan 
University. He graduated in 1846, and taught 
in Amenia Seminary until 1851, when he was li- 
censed to preach. In 1851 he was married, at Ar- 
menia. In 1860, nine years after, his wife died, 
leaving a little son and baby daughter, who were 
brought up by their grandmother, and who are 
now in Boston University, the son going to be a 
preacher, like his father. 

In 1861 the war commenced, and Mr. Haven 
offered to go as chaplain. The colonel of the 
Eighth Massachusetts Regiment did not want a 
chaplain. But he was duly commissioned by 
Gen. Butler, and went with the regiment in 1862. 
He went to Europe in 1867. He edited Zion's 
Herald, in Boston, until 1872, when he was elect- 
ed bishop, and settled in Atlanta, Georgia. He 
visited Mexico, and started missions in that Ro- 
man Catholic country. In the fall of 1876 he 
went to Liberia, and was attacked by the terrible 
African fever, and never saw a well day after- 
ward. From the 1st of January, 1877, to Janu- 
ary, 1880, he w T as a sick man. And yet he would 
not give up and own himself sick, but kept right 
on with his work, attending conferences, preach- 
ing, lecturing, visiting the churches, and doing all 
the duty of a Methodist bishop. 

His last trip was to California, on the Pacific 



152 LAST WORDS AND 

coast. He got home to Boston from this trip 
about the last of November, 1879. His bishop- 
home was Atlanta, Georgia; but his real home 
was Maiden, Massachusetts, where his aged moth- 
er, eighty-three years old, still lives, where his 
sister lives, and where his son and his daughter 
still have a home with their aunt and grand- 
mother. 

On Tuesday, November 18, he reached Boston 
in the early morning, and went to the home of 
his friend, Dr. Upham, saying he was "infinitely 
tired," but that he must go to Salem, to the funer- 
al of Kev. Gr. F. Cox, a minister of the New En- 
gland Conference, who was to be buried that day. 

A picture of the bishops hung in Mr. Upham's 
parlor. The bishop put his finger at the top of it 
and said, "Bishop Janes is gone." He then slid his 
finger down to the middle and said, "Bishop Ames 
is gone," and then down to the bottom and said, 
"Who will go next? The shaft of death is de- 
scending. It must be either Bishop Peck or me," 
the two whose pictures were at the bottom of the 
group. 

j On Saturday morning, January 3, 1880, the 
doctor told him he could not live the day out. 
"Then let me see my friends ; let us have a recep- 
tion," he said. Everybody but the family had 
been shut out of his room for weeks. The min- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 153 

isters and others who lived near flocked to his 
sick-room during the day. 

He said to one, "As I have said in life I say in 
in death, preach a whole gospel, the whole Bible, 
a whole hell, a whole salvation by a perfect Sav- 
ior." "Is it all well?" said the brother. "Yes, 
indeed. I know whom I have believed; and 
he is able to keep me. I have believed his gospel 
all through" To another, who had been sick for 
years, he said, "I did not think to get the start of 
you, and so get first to heaven ; but it seems I 
shall." Then this invalid friend prayed with him 
as only the sorely-tried can pray ; and the dying 
bishop, who had been silent in his religious exer- 
cises all his life, shouted as men shout for victory, 
"Glory! glory! glory!" He bid one farewell, 
saying, "It is good-night now, but when we meet 
again it will be good-morning." He had dreaded 
death while liviug, — regarded it as a repulsive, 
hideous thing. He rallied a little from a death- 
like exhaustion and said, "There is no river here; 
all is beautiful. I feel carried up in a sea of glory." 
We think of Him who led the disciples out as far 
as Bethany, lifted up his hands and blessed them, 
was taken up, and a cloud received him out of 
sight. 

To Dr. Mallalieu, in whose arms he lay dying, 
he said, "I am wonderfully upborne; angels are 



154 LAST WORDS AND 

all around me." When friends had withdrawn 
he gathered his family around him and said, "Now 
let us have a little family prayer-meeting." Aft- 
er this he sunk into a quiet slumber for nearly an 
hour, and then awoke, shortly after which his 
spirit passed into the heavens. 

Servant of God, well done. Thou hast lived 
for others; thou hast finished thy self-sacrificing 
work with joy; and thy soul now basks in the 
sunshine of the Redeemer's presence. To-day we 
stand gazing after thee. We miss thee from our 
solemn assemblies, from our firesides ; but thy 
faith is graven in ten thousand lines. It lives in 
Italy, in Bulgaria, in Mexico, in Africa, and in all 
parts of our own land, from the levels of the South 
to the snow-capped mountains of Alaska. Thy 
name shall be a synonym of purity, patriotism, 
patience, and charity. Thy spirit shall live amid 
the things of thy creation, while eternity unfolds 
the glories of thy nature. 

Bishop Foster said: "As I held his hand in 
mine, when my heart broke he said, 'Bishop, I 
love you a great deal;' and I knew it. 'God bless 
you! God bless my colleagues! Give them all 
my love. God bless the preachers! God bless 
everybody!' It was the utterance of the great, 
glorious, but now glorified heart that has passed 
into the heavens. Glory be to God that his life 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 155 

was permitted to go out in brightness, not in dark- 
ness! I presume that it was the. first time in 
forty years— may be the only time in forty years 
(it was when he was dying) — that he shouted ! I 
sat by his bed when, after man}^ beautiful sayings, 
some of which will be quoted by those who speak, 
he said, looking up, 'Glory! glory! glory!' hav- 
ing reserved to him for the last, for the completed 
and victorious triumph over his latest foe, a shout 
of victory !" 

Dr. Thomas, of Philadelphia, said: "The ad- 
dress of the bishop, delivered at the General Con- 
ference held in Chicago, in 1868, speaks with 
gratitude to God for keeping through the quad- 
rennium the 'Board intact.' It then consisted of 
ten persons. Id a short time their ranks were in- 
vaded by death, and the three last elected were 
the first to fall out of line. Since then eight more 
have been elected, making in all eighteen bishops 
from '68 to '79. In these eleven years Morris, Ba- 
ker, Janes, Ames, Clark, Thomson, Kingsley, 
Roberts, and now Haven, have ceased to work, 
but begun to live in a grander and better sense 
than before. Of the ten bishops in '68 but two 
remain, — our beloved and highly-honored Scott, 
born and raised among us, and the gifted and 
greatly-prized Simpson, who dwells in the City of 
Brotherly Love. The memory of those who have 
done well their part shall never be forgotten." 



156 LAST WORDS AND 

In 1851 Gilbert Haven was married to Miss 
Mary Ingraham, with whom he lived in the most 
exalted affection nearly ten years, till her death, 
in 1860. He was a lover all these years; and 
after her death he never abated or diverted his 
affection. He regarded himself a married man, 
and during the twenty years of his solitude after 
her departure never allowed his affections to stray 
from her. 

Once he said, "When this great battle is ended, 
and the Master lets me into the city, I intend to 
lie down, with my head in my wife's lap, and rest 
a thousand years." He said to a friend, "I used 
to think I would like to write this upon my tomb- 
stone as my epitaph: 'Graduated.' But since the 
church has trusted me with one of its chief re- 
sponsibilities, I hope to make it, 'Graduated 
with honor.' " 

Northampton is famous for being one of the 
most beautiful towns in New England. The 
bishop said, "When I go through these beautiful 
streets and see these elegant homes, it takes a clear 
vision of the eternal mansions to keep me from 
being discontented. But when I do see them I 
say, 'I have a better house up there than any of 
these.' " 

In 1860 his beloved wife went up to glory, but 
not out of his sight. I have found him in subse- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 157 

quent years in an exalted, holy hush on the third 
day of April, and he would say, "This is the 
memorial day." I knew too well what he meant, 
and one day said to him, 

" Sustain that exaltation, 
Expand that tender light, 
And hold with lover passion 
Thy blessed in thy sight." 

He answered, "That, is just what I constantly 
do." 

The words of the dying bishop were: "He 
whom I have preached to others so long will not 
desert me now. He is a whole Savior, a full Sav- 
ior. Glory to God for such a salvation." The 
whole day was filled glory ! glory! glory! Good 
men are not theirowu; and while amid the shouts 
of victory that marked his transit to his heavenly 
home I would have the country know him. To 
his sister Hannah he said, "Don't you presume to 
come to heaven before mother." To his son, "It 
is all right." To Dr. Mallalieu, "Take care of 
the black man when I am gone." 

A short time before he died, lifting up his hand, 
which was "mortified," he exclaimed, "I believe 
in the resurrection of the body." 

His playful humor, his heart of real kindness, 
rendered him every attractive. But he was never 
unmindful of his office or its aims. He gave him- 



158 LAST WORDS AND 

self, soul and body, to the church. He toiled, 
watched, and begged to secure a foothold for the 
church in almost every quarter of the globe. 
There was no self in him. "The life he lived he 
lived by the faith of the Son of God." Julian 
the Apostate died with the extorted exclamation 
on his lips, "Thou hast conquered, Galilean !" 
But Gilbert Haven has by his heroic life extorted 
from all lips, "Thou wert a noble hero, a glorious 
defender of the faith, and a lover of thy race." 

Intrusted with the "highest interests of the 
church, invested with powers involving vast re- 
sponsibility, and exercising an influence which 
must affect the most distant fields of labor," our 
weary bishop pillows his head on the lap of his 
mother, who, at eighty- three years of age, watch- 
es the dying son of fifty- eight years, clad in epis- 
copal vestments more beautiful than the most 
costly fabric wrought by human hands, and with 
a glory crowning his brow brighter far than that 
of mitered pope or crafty cardinal. His maiden 
and his married sister, and his dear boy, with 
his loving daughter, called to his couch, listened 
to his joyous exclamation, "I am borne up; I am 
floating; I am surrounded with angels." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 159 

THE SWAN-SONG OF BISHOP HAYEK 

BY REV. DANIEL STEELE, D. D. 

On the afternoon of Saturday, January 3, I re- 
ceived the following dispatch from Maiden: 
"Bishop Haven is near his end, and wishes to see 
you." Taking the first train, leaving the cars at 
Everett, and walking rapidly two miles, I reached 
the old homestead two hours before this great 
and good man's death. Quite a number were in 
the parlors, coming and going, after a brief inter- 
view with their departing friend. On my entrance 
into his chamber the bishop lifted up his hand, ex- 
claiming as he grasped mine, "O Dan, Dan, a thou- 
sand thousand blessings on you. The Lord has 
been giving you great blessings and me little ones, 
and now he has given me a great one. He has 
called me to heaven before you, — the first to break 
the immortal triangle [a ministerial fraternity of 
four members]." Said I, "Do you find the words 
of Paul true, '0 death, where is thy sting?'' 
"There is no death, there is no death," he inter- 
rupted in the midst of my quotation. "I have 
been fighting death for six weeks; and to-day I 
find there is no death." I did not then know that 
these words are a part of one of Longfellow's 
immortal stanzas: 



160 LAST WORDS AND 

" There is no death ! what seems so is transition ; 
This life of mortal breath 
Is but the suburb of the life Elysian, 
Whose portal we call death." 

~No doubt that brilliant intellect in which were 
stored all the choicest treasures of the poets was 
citing this stanza as an expression of his triumph. 
Then he repeated again and again John viii. 51 : 
•'Shall never see death, shall never see death. 
Glory! glory! glory!" I had never heard him 
shout before in an intimacy of thirty-seven years. 
He once told me that he was never out of sight 
of land on the current of religious emotions but 
once, and that was at the Hamilton camp-meet- 
ing. 

To my remark, "You have a great Savior," he 
instantly replied, "Yes, that is the whole of the 
gospel — the whole of it." He then with some dif- 
ficulty said: 

" Happy if with my latest breath 
I may but gasp his name ; 
Preach him to all, and cry in death, 
Behold, behold the Lamb!" 

In less than a minute he had an opportunity to 
preach Christ by a testimony to his power to save; 
for just then his counseling physician from Bos- 
ton came in to bid him farewell. Said the dying 
bishop as he reached out his left hand, — his right 
hand being dead and black from mortification, — 
"I am satisfied with your attentions. You have 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 161 

done all that human skill can do to heal me. I die 
happy. I believe in Jesus Christ." The physician 
made no reply, but as we passed down the stairs 
he said, "I never saw a person die so before." 
To me it did not seem that I was in the presence 
of death. The whole atmosphere of that cham- 
ber was that of a joyous and festive hour. Only 
the tears of kindred and friends were suggestive 
of death. 

Rev. Morris Haw, when asked, "How are you?" 
replied, "Resigned. Amen." 

Rev. Isaac C. Hunter was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born in Bellefonte, Center County, August 
30, 1798. He was admitted on trial at the Ohio 
Annual Conference held in Cincinnati, August 7, 
1819 ; and at the end of four years he was ordained 
elder. In May he was seized was with a violent 
cold, which produced inflammation of the lungs, 
and on the 27th of June terminated in death. 
During his illness he was patient and happy. Al- 
though his afflictions were great, yet grace sus- 
tained him ; and when the closing scene was 
nigh, and his weeping friends stood and gazed on 
the dissolution of the earthly house, he beheld a 
house not made with hands, eternal in the heav- 
ens. His face was illuminated with a heavenly 
smile ; and his eyes, even in death, sparkled with 



162 LAST WORDS AND 

joy. With the triumphant shout of victory he 
bid adieu to all below. 

Rev. Edmund Henley was a native of Pierson 
County, North Carolina. He was admitted on 
trial in 1803, at the conference held at the Olive 
Branch. For some time before his death he ap- 
peared to have intimations on his mind that the 
time of his departure was not far distant. A few 
weeks previous to his sickness he went home to 
his father's, erected a stand at the grave-yard, 
and to his old friends and acquaintances preached 
his own funeral sermon ; and after his death he was 
carried home and buried there. 

Rev. Jesse R. Hall was born in Ohio, May 
27, 1834, and died September 16, 1856. "I am 
very rich and very happy in the Lord." "It is 
all right, bless his name." "I want to sing ; but 
the doctor says I must be quiet. You sing for 
me. Sing, 

' How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 

In a believer's ear ! 
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 
And drives away his fears.' " 

As he repeated these lines a light was visible 
upon his face, and he shouted aloud, "Glory to 
God. Salvation ! I will go home to-morrow on 
the 'noon train." And just as the noon train of 
cars passed the village of Tremont, his spirit 
went home to God. 



OLD TIME-MEMORIES. 163 

Rev. Stephen Holland was born in Frederick, 
Maryland, April 6, 1806, and died in Willinington, 
January 10, 1860, aged fifty -four years, ai;d in the 
thirtieth year of his ministry. He said, "I am 
not afraid to die. My sky is without a cloud. I 
have never had a doubt." When advised to trust 
Christ's merits he responded, "I have done that 
long ago." To Brother McHugh, his colleague, 
he said, "Farewell! Come up, come up!" 

Rev. George W. Hamilton was born in Ohio, 
and died in Indiana, March 31, 1870. He said, 
"I can not feel that the valley is dark or shadowy. 
All is bright. Why should 1 fear when Christ 
leads the way?" "Brother Hamilton, what are 
the brightest prospects immediately in view ?" 
"Jesus, with heaven all glorious. Tell the breth- 
ren of conference that I love them, and that I 
shall soon rest in beaven and await their coming. 
All is right ! all is dazzling bright !" 

Rev. Wright Hazen was born in Kent, Putnam 
County, New York, in 1800, and died November 
12, 1838. He was licensed as a local preacher in 
1826. He said, "Never did the gospel appear so 
valuable as at the present ; never did I see my 
nothingness, aside from divine grace, as I. now do, 
and never was that grace more sweet." A short 



164 LAST WORDS AND 

time before his departure he said to a brother who 
called to visit him, "I am calm and peaceful. I 
have a good hope." 

Rev. Augustus Hall was born in Champaign, 
New York, May 9, 1819, and died in Dane Coun- 
ty, Wisconsin, November 15, 1869. His last 
words were an attempt to sing the 926th hymn, 
raising his hands above his head as he repeated 
slowly, in dying accents, 

" In rapturous awe on him to gaze, 
Who bought the sight for me ; 
And shout and wonder at his grace 
To all eternity." 



Rev. John L. Irwin was born in Huntingdon, 
Pa., January 9, 1812, and died in West Virginia, 
April 26, 1871. "Mark the perfect man, and be- 
hold the upright: for the end of that man is 
peace." The end of Brother Irwin was more, — 
his death was a holy triumph. He said, "My 
conversion, forty years ago, was as bright as a 
star. I have been advancing higher ever since. 
Whatever I have done, and however feeble my 
labors have been, I can always say, 

1 It means thy praise, however poor, 
An angel's song could do no more.' 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 165 

"My call to the ministry was as clear to 
my mind as though I had seen Jesus Christ let 
down the Bible from the sky, and heard him say 
to me, 'Preach the word.'" When informed of 
the near approach of death he replied, "Let it 
come! There is not a cloud between me and my 
future. My paradise is certain." At another 
time he said, "I am not afraid; the Lord God will 
wipe all tears from off all eyes." Again, "The 
golden bowl is breaking ; but as for me, I will 
soon be in the regions beyond she sky, where I 
shall live and shine and sing forever." His dy- 
ing message to his brethren of the conference was 
characteristic: "Be harmonious, working men; 
be harmonious." 

Benjamin Iliff was born in Bucks County, 
Pa., May 10, 1773. He began to travel June 1, 
1801, and died May 29, 1805. He appeared at 
the conference like a man bouud for the invisible 
world, into which he was suddenly (though per- 
haps to himself unexpectedly) to be called. On his 
return from the conference the weather was un- 
favorable. He called at a friend's house on the 
way, where he expressed some serious seusations 
he had of indisposition, if not (as the event 
proved to be) of death. From the testimony of 
his wife and others, he was happy in his sickness 
and had a desire to depart and be with Christ. 



166 LAST WORDS AND 

His happiness appeared to increase with his ill- 
ness. He told his friends he had not a doubt of 
his acceptance with God. His last words were, 
"I have lost sight of the world; come, Lord 
Jesus, come quickly!" "When we see young men 
called away we feel at first discouraged — the har- 
vest is so great and the laborers so few. But men 
and means are all in the hands of God, to gather 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Blessed are 
the dead that die in the Lord. 



Rev. Benjamin Jones, of the East Maine Con- 
ference, was born in Sandwich, Mass., July 28, 
1786, and died in Lincolnville, Maine, July 18, 
1850, aged sixty-four years. At the age of eleven 
years he listened to the preaching of Jesse Lee. 
A few years afterward he was awakened and con- 
verted under the labors of Rev. Joshua Hall. In 
the spring of 1805, at the age of nineteen, he 
made a public profession of religion and united 
with the church. He was licensed to preach in 
1808, and was admitted to the New England Con- 
ference in 1809. 

In his sickness the grace of God made him 
more than resigned. He blessed the Lord for all 
his afflictions. A short time before he died he 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 167 

requested to be raised in his bed, when, being sup- 
ported by two persons, he uttered a most affect- 
ing prayer for his family and for the church of 
God. This was his last outward act of devotion. 
The weary "wheels of life stood v still ;" aud Father 
Jones having preached the glorious gospel of the 
blessed Lord with remarkable success forty- two 
years, died in peace, and was gathered to his fa- 
thers. 

As a preacher, he was decidedly of the Puritan 
stamp. Few men have been less warped by pop- 
ular opinion or practice. His profession of relig- 
ion was a declaration of independence from every 
unhallowed bias. Of every moral question he 
was always found on the right side. His power 
of description was more remarkable for a close ad- 
herence to Bible delineation than for any romantic 
conceptions of an unlicensed imagination. The 
glorious platform on which he stood, and every 
step that conducted him to it, were seen as by 
sunlight. He never obscured the word of the 
Lord by drawing around it the drapery of vanity, 
nor marred its beauties by foolish attempts at wit. 
He never stooped from the glorious heights of 
eternal truth to touch even "fancy's loftiest 
thought. The distance was too great, and the 
point to be gained in a wrong direction, to excite 
his ambition. 



168 LAST WORDS AND 

The hills and valleys and moantains and rivers 
of Maine have borne testimony to his toils and 
faithfulness, in storm and sunshine, for more than 
forty years; and her deep forests and silent glens 
have witnessed his tears and echoed to his prayers 
for the salvation of her people. 

In short, he was a "man of God," a "good 
minister of Jesus Christ." His feet did not 
slide in the day of prosperity. He was "faithful 
unto death." He gave the trumpet a certain 
sound. His warnings fell upon the ears of thou- 
sands like a solemn cry of midnight, and aroused 
them from their slumbers to seek a refuge in 
Christ. 

His labors, always useful, were almost invaria- 
bly attended with revival ; and it is believed that 
no preacher who survives him in New England 
ever witnessed a greater number of conversions 
as the result of his labors. 

George S. Judd experienced religion in "Weston, 
Conn., at fifteen years of age, soon after which he 
united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
the above place. At the age of nineteen he re- 
ceived license to exhort, at Bethel, Conn. In 
1843, in the midst of a revival at Middletown, N". 
Y., in which he was in some degree instrumental, 
he was licensed to preach. In 1846-7 he was 
stationed at Bolton, Conn., where he continued 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 1G9 

Lis labors to the great satisfaction of his people 
and usefulness among them ; and on the 19th of 
October, 1847, lie died in great peace. 

In life he was a pious, consistent, and useful 
Methodist preacher. As he approached the close 
of his life his religion shone the brighter, and 
gave a powerful evidence to all present that the 
gospel of Christ is able to save. A short time 
before his death he broke out singing, 

" Angels, assist our mighty joys, 
Strike all your harps of gold ! 
And when you raise your highest notes, 
His love can ne'er be told." 

Just before he died one of his brethren inquir- 
ed if all was w r ell. He replied, " Yes, glory be to 
God, I feel that God is w 7 ith me." He inquired 
for his w T ife; and being told that she had laid 
down and asked if he wished to see her, he said, 
"Xo matter; we shall soon strike hands on the 
other shore." His wife coming to his bedside he 
placed his arm around her neck, when she asked, 
"What shall I do ?" He replied, "Trust in God, 
trust in God." After he was unable to speak he 
twice raised his hands in token of victory. 

Rev. Jchh S. Jones wa3 born in Baltimore, Md., 
June 19, 1824. "This is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners; of whom 1 am 



170 LAST WORDS AND 

chief." lie said, "I feel that he saves me fully. 
Hallelujah! hallelujah!" 

Rev. Mr. Johnson, a pioneer preacher, died. 
It seems that he had some presentiment of his 
death ; for a few days before he was taken ill he 
was unusually drawn out while preaching on these 
words, "Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die 
and not live," After the sermon he observed to 
his wife, "I have taken the discourse to myself. 
I feel a strong impression that my work is nearly 
finished, and that my departure is at hand." He 
then exhorted her to be resigned to the will of 
God. In the early part of his confinement he 
appears to have had some conviction that his 
mind was not as much absorbed in the divine will 
as he thought was his privilege; for he observed 
to his wife, "I do not feel that entire resignation 
to my Master's will that I wish, though I know 
the Lord is my portion, and that if he should 
take me hence I shall be with him forever." His 
confidence seemed to have brightened as he drew 
near his end ; for, addressing Dr. Pegram, with 
whom he was very intimate, he said, "Doctor, I 
am very happy, and have been so all the morn- 
ing." At another time he exclaimed, "Oh, end- 
less rest! blessed immortality! When shall I go? 
When will my Savior take me to my Father's 
house? There I shall dwell forever." At anoth- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 171 

er time be said, "My dear wife, I love you better 
than any creature the Lord has made ; but I love 
my Savior better, and 1 leave you willingly to go 
to him. I shall expect you to meet me in heaven ; 
do not disappoint me. The Lord gave you to me, 
and I freely give you back to him. Only trust in 
him and he will take care of you. 

Again he said, "My dear friends, I am so hap- 
py I know not what to do with myself. Glory, 
glory, I am happy ! My happiness is unspeaka- 
ble ! Oh, for more breath to praise my divine 
Master!" Thus he continued to linger until the 
25th day of November, when, just about sunset, 
the sun of his life set to rise again in immortality 
and eternal day. 

Rev. Bexjamix Jones was born about seven 
miles from Georgetown, South Carolina. He was 
admitted upon trial in 1801, and was stationed on 
Richmond Circuit. In 1804 he was stationed on 
Bladen Circuit, where by a very serious provi- 
dence he ended his life. It was in the latter part 
of January, 1804, when he changed worlds, and, 
we hope, the cross for the crown, sufferings for 
joy, and labor for rest. In connection with his 
death a singular circumstance occurred. A person 
who had traveled with him for some weeks was 
delayed by the lameness of his horse the day Ben- 
jamin Jones died. The same young man tilled 



172 LAST WORDS AND 

the station, and his horse only felt or showed his 
lameness for that day. The providences of God 
are a great deep, and his ways past finding out. 
Till we shall see eye to eye, and enter into the 
eternal sanctuary of the Lord, his death may ap- 
pear untimely and alarming to his friends; yet 
divine wisdom in mercy may have taken him from 
the evil and sufferings to come, supplying his 
place with a young man, a faithful flaming wit- 
ness in experience, in the ministry, in labor, in 
suffering for Christ's sake. The manner and cir- 
cumstances of Benjamin Jones' death will be 
taken into view as a reason why we have not his 
dying words and testimony. But his affliction 
was such that it taught him, and he appeared to 
learn, "Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as 
ye think not the Son of man cometh." 

Bishop Edmund Storer Janes, D. D., LL. D., 
was born in Sheffield, Mass., April 27, 1807. He 
was converted in 1820, and united with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. He was engaged in 
teaching from 1824 to 1830. He was received in- 
to the Philadelphia Conference in 1830. He was 
appointed agent for Dickinson College in 1838, 
and in 1840 financial agent of the American Bi- 
ble Society. On June 7th, 1844, in conjunction 
with the late Bishop Hamline, he was elected 
bishop, and was the last of the bishops who re- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 173 

ceived the undivided vote of the church. In 1864 
he was a delegate to the British Wesleyan Con- 
ference; and during his tour he held conferences 
it: Germany and Switzerland. He was a man of 
inflexible principles, thoroughly conscientious, 
and untiring in labor and devotion. 

He died at his home, in New York City, Sep- 
tember 18, 1876, having executed the office of 
bishop thirty-two years. His long life has there- 
fore been almost entirely spent in high ecclesias- 
tical position, giving him an intimacy with the 
whole genius and work of his church no other 
man has had. It is needless — almost impossible 
— to desccribe the progress which has been made 
under his direct superintendency. When first 
elected bishop there were no railroads to speak of, 
the field was comparatively limited, and almost 
the whole strength of the church lay east of the 
Alleghanies. "What is it now? Yet through the 
whole course of this advance Bishop Jane3 stood 
at the front. Apparently quiet and easy in his 
work, an untiring energy burned beneath the sur- 
face which has been felt in all lands. In the ag- 
gressive operations of the church on every conti- 
nent and island this man has been a leader and 
an inspiration. He was a man of singular sym- 
metry. Some of his colleagues, living and dead, 
have at times acquired greater notoriety. Bishop 



174 LAST WORDS AND 

Simpson, in the line of pulpit and platform ora- 
tory, has won a wider reputation. In a few ser- 
mons and addresses constructed of fine material, 
by his tremendous pathos and magnetism, he has 
swept the field, carding everything on the tide 
of admiration. But in clearness, fineness of ar- 
tistic oratory, refined diction, lofty and pure sen- 
timent, and the inspiration of fervent devotion, 
always and at all times, Bishop Janes has not been 
surpassed. The souls who have been uplifted by 
his eloquence, which seems redolent of a celes- 
tial atmosphere, might be numbered by thou- 
sands. In every aggressive work, missions, 
education, benevolence, new campaigns, what 
an advisor, what a tenacious persistency this 
grand old hero has been. The whole of his long 
life seems to have revealed no defect. Strong but 
smooth, dignified but witty, determined but calm, 
modest but decided, his like has rarely been met. 

Bishop Janes was one of the most remarkable 
men in the history of American Methodism, with 
hardly any superior and few equals. A few hours 
before his demise he said, in response to a ques- 
tion, "I am not disappointed.!" Grand sentence 
for the thoughtful, holy man to leave as a legacy 
to the church. 

Rev. Greenberry R. Jones was born near 
Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, April 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 175 

7, 1784. His strength of intellect, sweetness of 
disposition, and urbanity of manners gained the 
affections and excited the esteem and admiration 
of his associates. 

He died at Marietta, and with an unwavering 
confidence, and in sure and certain hope of im- 
mortality — a preparation for which he had not left 
to be made in the dying hour. He said, "There 
is not, and there has not been a cloud on my mind 
for more than a year. Oh, that I had strength to 
express my feelings ! I am overwhelmed with the 
goodness of God." He gave his dying blessing to 
his companion. Placing his hands on her head, 
he said, "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
bless thee ! " As he approached nearer to his end 
his joy increased, and his confidence became more 
and more firmly grounded on the immutable prom- 
ises of God. One who was present asked him, "Is 
all peace ? " He raised his hand ; his voice was 
heard but once more on mortal ears: "All is 
peace, peace." 

Kev. John Janes, "Oh, that I had health, I 
would leave all to carry the gospel once more to 
the frontier settlements." 



176 LAST WORDS AND 

K 

Rev. William Keith was born in the town of 
Easton, Massachusetts, September 15, 1776. By 
the account which he left of himself, he had seri- 
ous exercises of mind from the time he was eight 
years old, but by the influence of bad example he 
was kept under bondage to sin until some time in 
the month of May, 1794, in his eighteenth year, 
when in a love-feast he found the peace of God to 
his soul. 

One distinguishing trait in the character of 
William Keith was humility. Another peculiar 
excellence with which the great Head of the 
Church endued him was clearness of conception, 
readiness of utterance, and comprehensiveness in 
argument. It has often been remarked that he 
possessed the happy art of expressing much use- 
ful matter in a few well-chosen words. Sound in 
doctrine, deep in experience, and uniform in prac- 
tice, he was able to look a congregation in the 
face while he denounced the terrors of the law to 
sinners, and administered the promises of the gos- 
pel to mourners and to believers. The unction of 
the Holy Spirit, which anointed his word, more 
than compensated for his want of a classical edu- 
cation, which, though good in its place, can never 
supply the absence of a hcarl-fclt experience of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 177 

divine truth. The happy and sometimes aston- 
ishing effects of his ministry demonstrated that 
he was sent by Jesus Christ to declare unto man- 
kind the aw^il truths of Heaven, and to beseech 
sinners to be reconciled to God. 

A few days before his happy spirit departed he 
said, "The fear of death and hell is wholly taken 
away, and I have a hope of immortality." He 
also said that his views of the plan of salvation 
were the same as they had been since he em- 
braced the religion of Jesus Christ, and that we 
might tell his friends that he died in the Lord. 

Rev. Gideon A. Knowlton, a native of Connec- 
ticut, was born in East Haddam, and died in 
Whitestown, New York, August 15, 1810, aged 
fifty-one years. He became an itinerant preacher 
in 1800. While enduring the last agonies of dis- 
solving nature he frequently exclaimed, "How- 
sweet is pain when Christ is near! " A few days 
before his death he called his wife and two daugh- 
ters to his bed, and after having clasped each by 
the hand he bid them all farewell. "You have 
often," said he, "looked and wished for my return 
home; I am now going to my eternal home. Be 
faithful, and we shall meet again to part no more 
forever." 

Rev. John Kobler was born in Culpepper 

12 



178 LAST WORDS AND 

County, Virginia, August 29, 1768, and died in 
Fredericksburg, July 26, 1843. 

Through the examples and teachings of a pious 
mother, accompanied with the impressive and 
awakening influence of the Holy Spirit, at a very 
early period of his life he was led to see and feel 
the importance of religion, and induced to read 
his Bible with care, and to pray much in private. 
By thus improving the means of grace he was 
preparing for that great moral change which took 
place in his heart in the nineteenth year of his 
age, and on the eve of the 24th of December, 1787. 

Moved by the Spirit of God to assume the holy 
functions of the Christian ministry, in 1789, and 
the twenty-iirst year of his age, he entered upon 
the duties of an itinerating Methodist preacher, 
and soon after volunteered to be the pioneer to the 
north-western territory. The saint-like spirit, the 
Christian conversation, the dignified and minis- 
terial bearing, and the untiring labors in preach- 
ing, exhorting, praying, visiting the sick and im- 
prisoned, of John Kobler, have done more, under 
God, to give permanency to Methodism in Fred- 
ericksburg, Va., than any other instrumentality 
ever employed. 

The church in this place being poor, and the 
house in which they worshiped ineligibly situated, 
and their prospect of success consequently small, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 179 

in humble dependence upon almighty God they 
determined to make an effort to build. When the 
measure was resolved on, Brother Kobler was one 
of the most liberal subscribers; and feeling deeply 
interested in the success of the enterprise, though 
in the seventy-fourth year of his age, he went on an 
excursion, appealing to the churches of the West, 
the field of his early toil. The result of his labor 
in this matter was the bringing of more than one 
thousand dollars into the hands of the building 
committee, the greater part of which he obtained 
by personal application in sums of one dollar and 
under. 

For the completion and dedication of this house 
to the worship of God he seemed to wait like old 
Simeon. When the day arrived, and the Lord 
was invoked to take possession of the newly- 
erected temple, — while all the lovers of Method- 
ism were joyful this patriarch was transported, — 
the great object for which he had labored and 
prayed was accomplished, and he was ready to 
say, ".Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart 
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." 
But the Lord lengthened out his days, to see in 
this new temple one of the most interesting reviv- 
als with which the church in Fredericksburg has 
ever been visited. Hardly had the work of God 
abated before disease laid its destroying hand upon 



180 LAST WORDS AND 

him. While upon his bed of affliction he was per- 
fectly happy — his countenance always wearing a 
smile that seemed heavenly. Without murmur- 
ing or complaining, and with lamb-like patience, 
he suffered his Master's will. The following are 
some of the remarks he made during his afflic- 
tion : "Living or dying, so God is glorified, and 
I, a poor sinner, saved, is all I want." Calling on 
his friends to engage in prayer he was asked, "Is 
there anything special for which you wish us to 
pray?" "Pray," said he, "for the church, that 
God would pour out his Spirit abundantly upon it, 
and take it into close keeping with himself." And 
again, "I have dug deep, and brought all the evi- 
dence to bear ; and I find I have a strong confi- 
dence which nothing can shake. But all is through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." Brother, I wish it to be 
known that the principles I have believed and 
taught and practiced in life I hold in death, and 
find that they sustain me. I have tried all my 
life to make my ministry and life consistent. 
Jesus is very precious." 

Rev. Robert L. Kennon was born in Granville 
County, North Carolina, in the year 1789, and 
converted to God in 1801, when about eleven 
years old. At that early age he was found in the 
altar praying for mourners — a good beginning, 
and one which was not disappointed by his future 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 181 

course. In 1809 he was admitted on trial in the 
South Carolina Conference, and stationed on Cy- 
press Circuit; in 1810 on Cypress again; in 1811 
on Kewee; in 1812 on Warreuton. 

Throughout his last illness the patience, forti- 
tude, and humble gratitude for any attention 
shown him were remarkable. Though at a dis- 
tance from his family, and detained from the busi- 
ness of the conference, in which he was much in 
terested, his mind was kept in peace, for it was 
stayed on God. His active mind could not re- 
frain, even in sickness, from the study of the Holy 
Scriptures. He would sometimes exclaim, "I've 
got it — I've found a key to unlock this passage 
which I have long sought. 

About an hour before his death he said, "Breth- 
ren, my feelings are most delightful. Here is true 
simplicity, — here is true grandeur ! " He was ad- 
miring with rapture, the glorious plan of man's 
salvation, on which alone he rested his hope, and 
his soul was feasting on the love of God. Thus 
lived and died this eminent servant of Christ. He 
lived for God and his church, and when his work 
was done he went from the walls of Zion to the 
city above. 

"His body with his charge laid down, 
And ceased at once to work and live." 

Rev. John Kissling was born in Virginia, and 



182 LAST WORDS AND 

died while visiting his daughter. "I am nearing 
my eternal home. Oh, how precious is Jesus to 
the soul, when we are near the river of death. It 
is a glorious hope to see Jesus. Glory! glory !" 

Bishop Calvin Kjngsley, D. D., was born in 
Annisville, New York, September 8, 1812. He 
was licensed to preach when twenty-four years 
old. He graduated at Alleghany College in 1841, 
and was received into the Erie Conference. In 
1852 he was elected a delegate to the General Con- 
ference. In 1856 he was elected editor of the 
Western Christian Advocate. In 1864 he was 
chosen and ordained as bishop. In 1866 he visit- 
ed the conference on the Pacific coast, and in 1867 
western Europe. In 1869 he again visited the 
conference on the Pacific coast, and from there he 
went to India, China, and Japan. Before his 
death he visited the Holy Land, and returned to 
Beyroot, much exhausted by the journey. 

On the morning of April 7, 1870, when about 
to sail for Constantinople, he died suddenly of 
heart-disease, and was buried at Beyroot. 

By the direction of the General Conference, a 
monument has been erected over his ^rave. As 
Bishop Coke, the founder of the Wesleyan mis- 
sions in India, sleeps in the land which he loved, 
so the sainted Kingsley sleeps in Asiatic soil, and 
binds the hearts of the church in this western 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 183 

world to that land which will shortly become the 
theater of great events. 

He was at his death the youngest member of 
the Episcopal Board, and had performed a great 
amount of labor in the Episcopal office. He was 
honored and much loved by all who knew him. 
"He sleeps well." His memory will ever be dear 
to the Methodist Church in America. A fine 
writer, scholar, and the highest type of a Christian 
gentleman. 

Rev. Eli Kirk, of the Cincinnati Conference, 
a most excellent young minister, died in holy 
triumph. He left this testimony : "I have not 
preached au unknown Savior, or an unfelt Christ. 
How sweet to go home to rest." 

Rev. I. D. King was born in New Jersey, Sep- 
tember 16, 1828, and died at Eed Bank, New 
Jersey, July 28, 1874. "I am glad that I did not 
stop preaching until compelled to do so. It gives 
me great satisfaction that I have done all I could 
for the church. lam almost over the river. I 
shall soon be well ; and that will be new to me, 
for health is what I have never enjoyed in this 
Avorld." Again he said, "My name is King, but 
I am not crowned yet. I expect soon to get my 
crown. All is bright; all is clear. I shall soon 
be at home." 



184 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Kobert E. Kemp was born at Bayside, 
Talbott County, Md., January 31, 1802, and died 
in Greensburgh, March 6, 1875. He said, "Tell 
my brethren of the conference that I love them 
dearly, and that my dying advice is to preach 
Jesus, cling to his merits, and triumph at last, as 
I am now triumphing. Now I lie down to sleep 
in Jesus." 



Rev. William S. Lunt, M. D., was born in 
New York, May 26, 1817, and died in Fostoria, 
Ohio, April 24, 1879. "All is bright beyond." 

Rev. William H. Lawder was born in Smith- 
field, Virginia, November 17, 1809, and died in 
perfect peace, April 20, 1877. He was the oldest 
son of Frederick and Margarette Lawder, to whom 
were born ten children, eight of whom lived to 
mature life and adorned the church and doctrines 
of Christ. In 1818 the family emigrated to Ohio, 
and settled near Hillsborough. He entered the 
Ohio Conference in 1833, and died in Hamilton 
April 20, 1877. 

On Saturday afternoon, April 8, the Lord's- 
supper was celebrated in his room. An unwonted 
spiritual influence filled the place, melted all 
hearts, and elevated the soul of William H. Law- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 185 

der into heavenly ecstacy. It was a mount of 
transfiguration. His views of himself and his 
personal attainments and services in the cause of 
Christ were humble in the extreme, and at times 
greatly depressed him. Upon one such occasion 
he was directed to the words of John, "If we con 
fess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- 
ness." This verse became the luminous center of 
all his after- thought. He repeated it over and 
over, hour after hour — never forgot it, even down 
where the shadow was darkest. They were the 
last words that fell from his lips. During the 
earlier part of his sickness his uniform experience 
was that of peace — a calm resting in God, but no 
exuberance of joy. At times this occasioned him 
anxiety, and led to careful scrutiny of the most 
secret movements and impulses of his soul. He 
longed for more of the fullness of joy. It came. 
From the hour of his last communion he entered 
upon au experience of almost uninterrupted and 
cloudless joy. Even extreme weakness and pain 
did not disturb this exultation. He dwelt much 
and with great delight upon the thought of heav- 
enly recognition. The heavenly view was near 
and vivid. He should soon realize it all. 

Kev. Joseph T. Lewis was born in the city of 
Cincinnati, Ohio, April 8, 1824. His early relig- 



186 LAST WORDS AND 

ious training was of such a character as to develop 
in the morning of life the most precious fruits. 
He joined the church in his eleventh year, and in 
his seventeenth year he graduated in the Ohio 
University. Soon after he was appointed tutor, 
and then professor of natural science, in Wood- 
ward College, in his native city. But God had 
other work for him. He w T as to be an embassador 
for Christ. At the conference of 1848 he received 
a supernumerary relation, and was connected with 
the ISTinth-Street charge at Cincinnati. An appar- 
ent change for the better succeeded his return 
from the South, and at the conference of 1849 he 
received the appointment of agent for the Ohio 
Wesleyan University. But that seeming change 
was fading from the earth. In view of his still 
declining health, the conference of 1850 granted 
him a superannuated relation. Shortly after, at- 
tended by his wife, and with the fond hope that 
some relief might yet be found, he repaired to the 
city of Philadelphia for medical treatment. 

"With my heart's strongest affections," said he, 
"I love all the preachers and their work ; and to 
be counted in their number causes me to feel that 
I am in a broad place." " Were I eighteen years 
of age, and could I see it at all, I would, by the 
grace of God, be a Methodist preacher." 

As the final scene drew on, the faith of our dear 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 187 

brother seemed to acquire fresh vigor, and the 
grace of God manifested its highest consolations 
and supports. To a brother of the Philadelphia 
Conference he said, "I would like, were it God's 
will, to return home, that I might die among my 
brethren, and my ashes rest by the side of kindred 
friends till the coming of Jesus," and then in 
calm submission added, "but I would not make a 
change if I could." A few days afterward he said 
to the same brother, "The battle is nearly fought, 
the race is nearly ended." He died November 2, 
1850. 

Rev. T. W. Lewis was born in Royalton, Mass., 
August 6, 1825, and died of yellow fever in Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, September 30, 1871. 

When Hearing the margin of the cold river, he 
was calm and tranquil. He was then heard to 
say, "Still on the Rock," and joined in sing- 
ing "Rock of Ages," " Forever here my rest 
shall be, close to my Savior's side," "Wash 
me and make me thus thine own," etc. Also, 

"When I survey the wondrous cross 
On which the Prince of Glory died ;" 

and saying this was his favorite. Pointing up he 
would say, "Do you not see the cross?" He kept 
saying over and over that sweetest name, "Jesus! 
Jesus ! Jesus ! Dear name, the Rock on which I 
build." 



188 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. William Lumis. "I shall die. I am ready 
and willing at any time the Lord shall speak the 
word and call me to himself. 

Rev. Charles R. Lovell was born in Dunstable, 
Mass., August 11, 1808. He emigrated with his 
parents to eastern Ohio, in 1818. On the Monday 
before he died he said, "From the first of the year 
I have thought I should not survive, yet it caused 
me no uneasiness. I have felt composed and 
cheerful under the impression. My present state 
is one of great confidence and faith in Christ. 
My prospects of a better world are perfectly clear. 
Heaven seems to me like a rich and beautiful 
home. I have great enjoyment — very." Again 
in the evening he said, "All is calm. It is sweet 
to die." Again the next day, "I am still here, 
but I do not complain. My prospects are perfect- 
ly clear." The eighth chapter of Romans being 
read at his request he exclaimed, "Oh, what a 
precious portion of God's word ! ' 

Rev. Noah Levlngs, D. D., was born in New 
York. He was admitted to the traveling connec- 
tion in 1818. In 1844 he was elected financial 
secretary of the American Bible Society, and in 
the fall traveled southward through Clarksville, 
Memphis, and Jackson, Mississippi, traveling over 
rough roads and dismal swamps to Vicksburg, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 189 

during which tour he preached eighteen sermons, 
delivered nine public addresses, and traveled four 
thousand miles. He preached his last sermon in 
Natchez. Being exhausted by travel, he started 
homeward. He arrived at Cincinnati on the 3d 
of January, and was conveyed to the residence 
of Mr. S. H. Burton, where he expired January 
9, aged fifty- two years. 

During his sickness he said, "The Lord Jesus is 
the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
I die in no other faith than the faith of the gospel, 
and that as taught by the Methodist Episcopal 
Church." On one occasion, while sitting up, and 
leaning against the bed, Mr. Burton placed a large 
Bible to support his head, that he might breathe 
easily. AVhen fixing his eye on the title as print- 
ed on the back of the cover he exclaimed, "Oh, 
thou blessed book! Thou lamp to my feet and 
light to my path, thou guide of my youth, direc- 
tory of my manhood, and support of my declining 
years, how cheerless would this world be were it 
not for thy divine revelations and Christian ex- 
perience." 

At another time he said, "Pray for me, my dear 
brethreu, that I may have strong faith in the hour 
of trial. My religious states have been adjusted 
to a life of health more than one of sickness, but 
God, my Redeemer, will order all things well. I 



190 LAST WORDS AND 

have been sifting the motives of my entire life 
down to the very bottom, and can not discover 
anything there that dying I would wish other- 
wise. But my imperfections, oh, my imperfec- 
tions! I have nothing whereon to rely but the 
merits of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I 
feel he died for me." 

On Monday his will was written, as dictated by 
himself. After signing it he exclaimed, "Thank 
God, one foot is in the Jordan, and I shall soon 
cross over." 

At another time he said, "I am not able to con- 
verse much, but I can still say, Glory to God! 
All is clear. I have a clear sky." To Bishop 
Morris he said, "Tell the members of my confer- 
ence, I die in Christ. I die in hopes of the gos- 
pel. Tell them I have a firm, unshaken confi- 
dence in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus 
Christ as the foundation, and only foundation of 
my life; and relying on that foundation, all before 
me is light and joyful and glorious." At the close 
of a short prayer then offered, as we knelt 
around his bed, that he might be favored with a 
safe and easy passage to the promised rest in 
heaven, he responded, "Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
Glory to God!" Subsequently he conversed but 
little. Being asked if he wanted anything he re- 
plied, "The will of the Lord be done." When a 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 191 

friend asked him if he wished to say anything he 
responded, "Live for God." 

Rev. Addi Lee was born in Stansted, Canada 
East, in 1816, and died at Ashland, N"ew York, 
December 8, 1857, aged forty-one years. He pos- 
sessed an educated mind; he was a logical reason- 
er; his style was chaste and classical, his imagina- 
tion vivid and powerful. He could make sin ap- 
pear exceedingly sinful. His mind was "like a sea 
of glass, mingled with fire." Above all, he was 
an earnest Christian, meek, patient, serious, and 
prayerful. He lived for eternity ; he died as he 
lived. When his end was near he said to his 
wife, who was trying to minister to his com- 
fort, " If you had a thousand worlds to give 
me you could not better my condition. I am 
filled with the divine glory; and if I had the 
power I would shout it to the ends of the earth, I 
am ready to depart and be with Christ." 

Rev. Samuel Lewis was born in Falmouth, 
Massachusetts, March 17, 1799, and died in Cin- 
cinnati in 1854. 

His ancestors, on his mother's side, were of the 
original Pilgrim stock, at Plymouth. In the year 
1813 Mr. Lewis came with his father's family to 
Cincinnati, at the age of fifteen years, and was 
employed as a mail-carrier between Cincinnati and 



192 LAST WORDS AND 

Chillicothe. He traveled on horseback ; and the 
trip occupied seven days, and sometimes two 
nights, amid perils arising in the new country 
from high water, bad roads, and forest-rangers of 
various classes. 

In 1819 he commenced the study of law with 
Judge Jacob Burnett. In 1822 he was admit- 
ted to the bar and soon became a distinguished 
advocate, and ever afterward maintained it. In 
1824 he was licensed as a local preacher. He was 
then well known as an earnest advocate of tem- 
perance, and relied upon by the advocates of pop- 
ular education as a powerful coadjutor. In 1823 
he was married to Miss Charlotte E. Goforth, a 
daughter of an eminent physician and pioneer of 
the Miami Valley. 

Mr. Lewis was one of the earliest and one of 
the most active supporters of the Western College 
of Teachers, whrch was formed in the year 1831. 
In 1837 he was elected state superintendent of 
public schools, by the state legislature of Ohio. 

The limits of this sketch will not permit an ex- 
tended account of the Herculean tasks he perform- 
ed in his new sphere of labor. The first year he 
traveled over fifteen hundred miles on horseback, 
for which he received a salary of five hundred dol- 
lars. The temperance and antislavery causes 
both received a large share of Mr. Lewis' at v: - 



OLD TIME-MEMORIES. 193 

tion in the latter years of his life. His soul- stir- 
ring and winning eloquence still lives in the mem- 
ory of many. He was a firm and decided Meth- 
odist, yet no bigot. Exhausting work for his fellow- 
men had worn him out before his time, and in 
1854 death came to him not unexpectedly. He 
died as he had lived, happy and hopeful, and fear- 
less of death and the grave. His daughter is the 
wife of Judge Hagans, of Cincinnati. His son, 
Rev. Joseph T. Lewis, died some years ago. His 
other son, Rev. William G. Lewis, and the excel- 
lent biographer of his father, is still living and 
working for the Savior in connection at present 
with the Episcopal Church. 

Rev. Samuel A. Latta, M. D., was born in 
Muskingum County, Ohio, April 8, 1804, aud died 
in Cincinnati, June 28, 1852. He was licensed to 
preach in 1827, and was appointed to Cincinnati 
Station in 1830. In this field of labor his honored 
colleagues were, Rev. J. B. Finley, Rev. Nathan 
Emery, and Rev. E. W. Sehon, D. D. In Dr. 
Latta' s subsequent and laborious life he acted as 
agent of Augusta College, Kentucky, and filled 
several responsible stations — Lebanon, Xenia, 
Hamilton, and Dayton. His ministry was greatly 
blessed with exntensive revivals of religion, and 
to this day the memory of Dr. Latta and his la* 
bors. are spoken of with cherished affection. 

13 



194 LAST WORDS AND 

By the impairment of his vocal organs from al- 
most constant and unsparing use of them, in the 
delivery of his popular lectures, occasional revival, 
camp-meeting, and pastoral sermons, he was at 
length compelled to desist from public speaking, 
and devoted the later years of his life to writing, 
editing, and the medical profession. As an au- 
thor and physician Dr. Latta held a high position 
in the city of Cincinnati, where he resided longer 
than anywhere else. He identified himself with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and be- 
came widely known in the South as well as the 
North and north-west and the East. 

His lamented death was sudden, though not 
unexpected by his friends. His biographer says 
of Dr. Latta, "He was born and died. But how 
much of life was contained between those two 
events?" "We answer, eternity alone will reveal. 
He was ready to depart at the bidding of his 
Lord, and now sings the "song of ransom" among 
his old friends and companions in the upper sanct- 
uary. I knew him well, and loved him much for 
his manly qualities of head and heart. 

Rev. John Littlejohn died at his residence, 
three miles from Russellville, Ky., on Thursday 
morning, May 12, 1836. He complained of gen- 
eral debility and constant thirst. It seems that 
nature's wheels had worn out, and stopping sud- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 195 

denly he quietly sunk to rest, saying awhile before 
his departure, "Tell all my friends that all is 
well." After a pause he added, "The Lord is 
with us!" He was upward of eighty years old, 
and had preached more than fifty years. 

Bishop Morris said he was among the earliest 
Methodist preachers, and has been favorably and 
extensively known in this connection from its in- 
fancy. He was a cotemporary with Waters and 
Garrettson, and during the American Revolution 
sustained the character of a Methodist preacher, 
and submitted to the reproach and persecution 
that ordinarily attached to such a character at 
that period. We have heard him relate some cir- 
cumstances of thrilling interest in relation to his 
labors and trials in those perilous times, and think 
it probable that he has left the material from 
which an interesting memoir may be compiled. 
His mind was of the first order ; and his powers 
of elocution have been rarely surpassed. At a 
session of the Kentucky Conference we heard 
him deliver a sermon which, in point of clearness, 
strength, and effect, we thought we had never 
seen equaled by any one of his age. But his 
work is done ; and, thank God, "the mortal af- 
fliction is past," and he has safely entered his 
rest. 

Rev. David Lytle was born in Salem, N. Y., 



196 LAST WORDS AND 

October 31, 1826, and died October 6, 1869. When 
sinking rapidly he said, ''The grace of God is 
abundantly sufficient. He sustains me calmly, 
sweetly, gloriously ! If I could, I would sing, 

4 Death, with thy weapons of war lay me low ; 
Strike, king of terrors, I fear not the blow.' 

"The church, however dear to me, I am satisfied it 
can do without me. Thank God! O Death, where is 
thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory ? I am in 
sympathy with the w r ork and sacrifice of the gos- 
pel ministry. My advice to my brethren, if 
worthy of being given, is this, 'Be faithful; 
preach the gospel.' " When dying he shouted, 
"Hallelujah ! Had I to live my life over again, I 
would preach Christ. Tell my brethren in the 
ministry to hold up Christ to a dying world." 

Chandler Lambert was born in Alford, Mass., 
March 27, 1781, of Methodist parents. Though 
he possessed not the advantages of a thorough 
classical training, yet his education was sufficient- 
ly literary to give his mind a studious cast, and 
sufficiently moral to sanctify his thirst for knowl- 
edge. From early youth to manhood, previous 
to his conversion, he delighted much in reading 
the Bible. 

But three days of sickness brought the weary 
wheels of life to a solemn pause. When asked 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 197 

if all was well he calmly replied, "I know nothing 
to the contrary." Again, touching his realization 
of the divine presence, he was asked, "Is that 
Jesus whom you have preached to others your 
comfort in this last conflict?" To which he replied, 
"It is the same Jesus whom I have preached to 
others." He died March 16, 1845, aged sixty-four 
years. 

Ralph Lotspeich, of German descent, was born 
in Culpepper County, Virginia. He removed 
with his father's family to Tennessee, where he 
was called to preach the gospel. His complaint 
bid defiance to medical aid. An inflammation 
turned to a mortification of the kidneys, which 
terminated in death June 15, 1813. 

He suffered much for nine or ten days previous 
to his death, but was never heard to complain. 
He often sung with composure and joy these 
lines : 

" Great spoils I shall win 
From death, hell, and sin ; 
'Midst outward affliction 
Shall feel Christ within." 

Having called on A. Cummins to adjust his 
temporal business, he told him it was done. On 
inquiring and being told what money he had left, 
with a heavenly smile he said, "That will keep 
my wife and children one year, aud the Lord will 



198 LAST WORDS AND 

provide." The day on which he died, being ask- 
ed how he was, he replied, "I can only say I am 
sure of heaven. Not a doubt or a cloud has ap- 
peared since . my sickness begun." Just before 
the solemn scene took place he said, "Tell my 
old friends all is well — all is well." 

Joseph Lewis was born in Wales, November 
19, 1820. In 1839 he emigrated to Illinois in 
company with his father. 

The disease of which he died was congestion 
of the stomach and bowels. About an hour be- 
fore he died he was asked by his wife (to whom 
he had been married but a few months) how he 
felt about dying. He asked if he was considered 
dangerously sick, to which she replied he was. 
After a moment's reflection he said, "I am ready." 
A short time afterward he said to his wife, "Tell 
my brethren of the Rock River Conference that 
I die shouting happy." 

In view of the death of this youthful and high- 
ly promising minister of the gospel of peace we 
are forced to exclaim, "How mysterious are the 
ways of the Lord !" But God is too wise to err, 
"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away : 
blessed be the name of the Lord." 

"Go to thy grave ! at noon from labor cease ; 

Rest on thy sheaves; thy harvest task is done; 
Come from the heat of battle, and in peace, 
Soldier, go home ; with thee the fight is won. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 199 

" Go thy grave? No ; take thy seat above ; 
Be thy spirit present with the Lord, 
Where thou for faith and hope hast perfect love — 
An open vision for the written word." 

Rev. Richard Lanning, a member of the New 
Jersey Annual Conference, was born in Sussex 
County, New Jersey, June 13, 1809. He received 
his first license to preach in 1833, and was called 
into the itinerant field in 1835. 

On Saturday morning, January 5, he was not 
able to rise from his bed, and complained of great 
weakness. About midnight it was thought he 
was dying, and his children were called up to re- 
ceive his parting blessing. He took each one by 
the hand, kissed them, bid them farewell, and 
with his cold hand upon their head commended 
them to their heavenly Father for protection. 
His companion then asked him if his way was 
clear. In a whisper he replied, "All is right; 
God is my Rock; I trust in the atonement." 
Looking up to his physician he said, "If I am to 
die to-night it will be a solemn hour ; but I die in 
peace with God and all mankind." At a later 
period, looking at his sorrowing companion, he 
said, "0 my dear, weep not for me; I shall soon 
be at home. I am almost over the stormy banks. 
We shall be parted but a little while. We will 
soon meet in our Father's kingdom to part no 



200 LAST WORDS AND 

more." Just before he died he said, "Oh, yes, Je- 
sus is precious, precious, precious ! 

Kev. John S. Lyttle was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, April 6, 1820, and died September, 1879. "It 
is all right, there is but one way to glory. And 
now may the peace of God, which maketh rich 
and addeth no sorrow, be and remain with you 
and the church of God now and forever. My 
dear children, under no circumstances find fault 
with the church." • 

"ML 

Rev. Seney Martin was born in Ireland, in 
1839, and died in Tennessee, January 1, 1876. 
He said, "The physicians here, as well as at home, 
recommend the use of stimulants. But, oh, when 
I hear and see how they are used, and their terri- 
ble effects, I say, 'Lord, if you want me to live, 
you must cure me without rum.' The cork still 
remains in the bottle ; and I hope by the grace of 
God it will stay there. Thanks be unto God for 
the temperance ring in northern Methodism." 
He then said, "Oh, what a precious Savior I have, 
and how glad I am that I sought him while young 
and in health ; for how could I attend to it now while 
my poor body is racked with pain. If my life is 
spared, how much nearer will I live to Christ, and 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 201 

preach him^nore earnestly, though I have always 
preached the truth. When dying he said to his 
wife, "Carrie, it is all right. Precious Savior! 
Precious Savior!" 

Seth Mattison was born in Shaftsbury, Ver- 
mont, February 22, 1788. From his own account 
he was a subject of early religious impressions, and 
at the age of fifteen was brought to a knowledge of 
God through faith in Christ. In July, 1805, he 
was received into the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
in Onondago, K. Y., by Rev. George Lane. He 
was shortly after licensed to exhort by Rev. Amos 
Jenks, who has long since gone to his rest. He 
obtained his first license as a local preacher in 
1807, and in 1810 was received on trial to travel 
in the Genesee Conference. He performed effect- 
ive service thirty years, having been supernumer- 
ary four years. 

After preaching on the last Sabbath in May, 
1843, he baptized sixteen persons, several of whom 
were immersed. Shortly after he was seized with 
paralysis, which quite prostrated him, and so 
affected his optic nerve that he was nearly de- 
prived of sight. While in this state he went with 
his companion to visit their children in Perry, in 
the hope that it might have a favorable effect up- 
on him. But our heavenly Father ordered other- 
wise. Here, on the 18th of October, he closed 



202 LAST WORDS AND 

his earthly pilgrimage in the glorious^hope of an 
endless life. 

For two or three years before his death it ap- 
peared to his most intimate friends that he was 
ripening for the heavenly kingdom. The state of 
mind he enjoyed during this period, and which 
continued to the end, may be inferred from the 
following extract of a letter to his most confiden- 
tial brother and bosom friend, Rev. Israel Cham- 
berlayne, after he had been seized by the partial 
blindness occasioned by the paralysis with which 
he was attacked : "But, glory be to God, the Fa- 
ther of lights, I am for the most part happy and 
resigned. The chastening of his rod affords me 
peculiar satisfaction, as it is a demonstration of 
his love to my unworthy soul. Yes, I feel that 
God is love both in darkness and in light! Hal- 
lelujah !" Again, "Glory to God and the Lamb ! I 
feel an assurance that I shall be saved from the 
great corruptions of the fall, and live where I 
shall no more need the light of the sun, moon, or 
stars." 

Rev. Michael Marlay was born in Berkley 
County, Va., June 21, 1797. In 1818 he emigrat- 
ed to the West, and settled near Dayton, Ohio. 
The following year he was married to Miss E. 
Clymer. In the fall of 183] he was recommended 
by the quarterly conference of Union Circuit as a 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 203 

suitable person to be received into traveling con- 
nection. 

As a preacher Dr. Marlay was thoroughly Wes- 
leyan in his doctrine, and didactic and argument- 
ative in style. He has left few ministers among 
us who are more skilled in doctrinal discourse, or 
who are better prepared to "contend earnestly for 
the faith which was once delivered unto the 
saints." He was a vigorous and close thinker, 
and held a high rank among the great minds of the 
day. These strong powers of mind enabled him, 
after nearly forty years of almost incessant study, 
to rank among the best and soundest theologians 
in the church. 

After Bishop Thomson had prayed with him 
on Saturday evening a brother, taking him by the 
hand, said, "I hope you do not suffer much." He 
replied, "I suffer but little; but I am going down." 
His friend said, "How do you feel with reference 
to your prospect of so soon leaving us?" He an- 
swered, "It is all right; it is all clear." Another 
one said to him, "We reach a point where it may 
be said, 'Vain is the help of man.' " He nodded 
assent. When it was added, "But our God can 
help us in the greatest extremity," he replied, "I 
am in his hands." And when asked by another, 
"Can you now say, 'For I know whom I have be- 
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep 



204 LAST WORDS AND 

that which I have committed unto him against 
that day?'" he repeated most emphatically, 
"Yes, yes ! " Thus at about nine o'clock on Sab- 
bath morning, September 2, 1863, our esteemed 
Brother Marlay made his triumphant exit from 
earth to heaven, full of years and full of honors. 

Rev. Joseph McDowell Mathews, D. D., was 
born in Augusta County, Va., December 8, 1804, 
and died in Hillsborough, Ohio, August 5, 1879. 
He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in his 
eighteenth year, and was licensed to preach in 
1827. Ill health compelled him to retire from the 
itineracy; and in 1839 he established Oakland 
Female Seminary. In 1856 he took charge of 
Hillsborough Female College. 

His last sickness and his death were in beauti- 
ful harmony with his former pure and useful life. 
During his last sickness he frequently quoted, 

11 Oh, would my Lord his servant meet, 

My soul would stretch her wings in haste, 
Fly fearless through death's iron gate, 
Nor feel the terrors as she passed." 

Also that beautiful hymn of Charles Wesley, 

" In age and feebleness extreme, 
Who shall a helpless worm redeem ? 
Jesus, my only hope, thou art 
The strength of my flesh and heart. 
Oh, could I catch one smile from thee, 
And drop into eternity." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 205 

This he often quoted as expressive of his feel- 
ings. To the alumni of the Hillsborough Female 
College, in June, 1879, he sent the following mes- 
sage: u May you have success in all good work, 
and help to contribute to the conversion of the 
world. Tell them Jesus supports me during my 
sickness." Many expressions of great beauty fell 
from his lips. During the visit of a friend he 
said, "I am wonderfully sustained; my sky is 
clear, thank God. A thousand ways has Provi- 
dence to bring believers home. Christ sustains 
my soul." Among his last utterances were, "Al- 
most home! almost home! almost home! 

" Now safely moored, iny perils o'er, 
I'll sing first in nights diadem, 
Forever and for evermore the star, 
The Star of Bethlehem." 

Rev. Alexander Meharry, D. D., was born 
in Adams* County, Ohio, October 17, 1813, and 
died suddenly in Germantown, Ohio, Xovember 
18, 1878, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He 
was converted in boyhood, and was licensed to 
preach July 24, 1841, and joined the Ohio Con- 
ference. He was a holy man of God, a very use- 
ful minister, and was greatly beloved. 

On the Sabbath morning before his death he 
preached from Ecclesiastes ix. 10: "Whatsoever 
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for 
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 



206 LAST WORDS AND 

wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." The 
first words that fell from his lips were solemn and 
impressive, and in the light of the next twenty- 
four hours proved truly prophetic : "I speak as a 
dying man to dying men." At the close of that 
remarkable sermon, as he sunk back upon the 
sofa in the pulpit, he exclaimed again, "I have 
preached as a dying man to dying men." On 
Monday morning he was in good spirits. He was 
about to proceed on his journey home, and had 
taken his seat in his buggy, when he became very 
ill and returned into the house of Mr. H. Unger, 
where he died in a calm and peaceful manner, 
after giving his testimony on the previous Sab- 
bath. 

Rev. Levi P. Miller was born in Union Coun- 
ty, Pa., January 8, 1809, and died at Madisonville, 
July 28, 1872. He said, "I have attended my last 
conference. Express my respect and love for my 
dear brethren, with whom I have labored so many 
years. Give my love to Brother Moody. As to 
the future, all is bright. If my children were 
all converted, I could ask no more. "But 
though my house be not so with God, yet he hath 
made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in 
all things, and sure ; and this is all my hope and 
all my desire, though he maketh not my house to 
grow." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 207 

Rev. William Monroe was born in Alleghany 
Count}-, Md., September 8, 1783, and died May 
29, 1871, verging on eighty-eight years. His in- 
firmities increased rapidly in his old age. At the 
last conference-session he attended he said, "My 
sight has left me, hearing is very dull, and my ar- 
ticulation is fast failing. All is dark to my sight; 
and with great difficulty I can be made to hear. 
I sit, and walk about a little; and all that is left 
me is to think, think, think, — none but God with 
whom to exchange thoughts ! Yet my hope and 
trust is in the Lord ; and though my flesh and my 
heart fail, yet God is the strength of my heart 
and my portion forever." With this firm trust in 
God, through his Son Jesus Christ, he lived; and 
in it he died. 

John W. Minor was born in Loudoun County, 
Virginia, in 1800. In the seventeenth year of his 
age, at a camp-meeting held near Leesburg, in 
his native county, he was brought "from darkness 
to light, and from the power of Satan to God." 
After discharging for some time the duties of 
class-leader in Jefferson County, Ohio, he was, in 
1825, licensed to preach, and the next year was 
received on trial by the Pittsburgh Conference. 

Affable and unobtrusive in his manners, per- 
spicuous, zealous, sound, and energetic in preach- 
ing, "acceptable to God and approved of men," 



208 LAST WORDS AND 

for twenty-two years with Christian cheerfulness 
and resignation he endured the toils, perplexities, 
and trials incident to the life of an itinerant 
preacher; and during all that time he was an ef- 
ficient, faithful, and successful laborer in the vine- 
yard of the Lord, acting not according to his "own 
will, but as a son in the gospel. ' 

In his last illness his sufferings were very great ; 
but his mind was kept in peace. Reposing in full 
assurance of faith upon the precious and immuta- 
ble promises of God, he repeatedly remarked, 
"My work is done," "all is right," "the Lord 
has given me assurance," and various expressions 
of similar import. He now rests front his labors, 

" Far from a world of grief and sin, 
With God eternally shut in." 

Rev. E. Gerrard Morris was born in New York 
City, September 14, 1839. He was converted and 
joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in Tren- 
ton, New J ersey, at the age of ten years. When 
sixteen years of age he went to Iowa and com- 
menced the study of law, but returned after three 
years, and was licensed to preach. He then re- 
turned west again, and joined the Northwest In- 
diana Conference. The burden of his ministry 
was, "Souls, souls for Jesus." 

While attending a meeting at South Bend he 
was violently attacked with fever, and died. Dur- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 209 

ing his lucid hours he was happy and fully resign- 
ed to die. After taking an affectionate leave of 
friends he raised his eyes toward heaven and ex- 
claimed with rapture, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" He 
died at the age of twenty-two years. 

Rev. Joseph D. Marshall was born in Connec- 
ticut, in 1804, and died in Brooklyn, New York, 
January 9, 1860. "All things work together for 
good. We are nearing the heavenly world. A 
present Savior ! a full salvation ! a good hope ! " 

Rev. C. W. Miller was born in Richmond, 
Iowa, November 7, 1816, and died in Colorado 
Territory, April 8, 1872. He said, "I not only 
have a sweet submission, but, thanks be unto 
God, I have victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Blessed Jesus, thy will, not mine, be 
done. Amen." 

Rev. James Moore died May 11, 1842, in the 
eighty-second year of his age. He was born in 
Tyrone County, Ireland, in 1760. Of his early 
life we have simply the information that he joined 
the Methodist Society in 1786; that he emigrated 
to the United States in 1792, and joined the Phil- 
adelphia Conference as an itinerant preacher in 
1794. During the forty-eight years which ensued, 
his faithfulness and devotion to the ministry he 

14 



210 LAST WORDS AND 

had "received of the Lord Jesus" rendered him a 
blessing to thousands whom he served in the gos- 
pel. 

On his way to attend a session of the New Jer- 
sey Conference he was arrested by a fatal disease 
— bilious pleurisy. He was often entreated to lie 
down during the day ; but he steadfastly refused 
while he had strength to sit or walk, saying, "I 
have not lain down during the day for fifty years, 
and can not think of indulging so indolent a habit 
until compelled. 

It cost him a struggle of feeling to relinquish 
the hope of attending the conference, never having 
missed a session during the whole period of his 
ministry. But when informed that he could not 
survive, he evinced a willingness to depart and be 
with Christ. His last hours were such as we 
could have anticipated. When aroused from the 
weakness and stupor of approaching death he 
exclaimed, "Jesus is with me all the time, — nigh 
at hand to help me whenever I call upon him." 
He truly died the death of the righteous, and his 
end was peace. We now say, as he used to sing, 

" Happy soul, thy days are ended, — 
All thy mourning days below ; 
Go, by angel guards attended, 
To the sight of Jesus go." 

Rev. John Thomas Mitchell was born August 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 211 

30, 1810. in Salem County, Virginia. In 1829 he 
was converted at a conference camp-meeting. He 
taught school in 1830, and in 1831 he preached 
his first sermon. He was admitted into the Illi- 
nois Conference in 1832, and in 1835 he was sta- 
tioned in Chicago. In 184-4 he was appointed 
agent of the Western Book Concern. In 1848 he 
was transferred to the Ohio Conference, and was 
stationed at Trinity Church, in Cincinnati, and at 
Wesley two years. In 1862 he was elected pre- 
siding elder of Cincinnati District, and from 1852 
until the time of his death he was secretary of 
the Cincinnati Conference. In all respects Bro. 
Mitchell was well qualified for the work of the 
Christian ministry, and deeply experienced in re- 
ligion. In 1838, at Jacksonville, Illinois, he ex- 
perienced the blessing of full salvation. His 
daughter, and greatly-beloved wife, preceded him 
to heaven. In recording her death in his journal 
lie says. "My best earthly friend, the mother of my 
children, my guardian angel, my safest counselor, 
my beloved Catharine, a most true-hearted and 
pure-minded Christian woman, entered her rest at 
five o'clock this afternoon." 

From this last blow he never recovered. On 
the 21st of March he had a hemorrhage of the 
lungs, and he soon became satisfied that -his 
work was done." To an official member of Trin- 



212 LAST WORDS AND 

ity Church he said, "I am going home to rest. 
The port is in sight. You and I have often sung 
together here on earth, but we'll sing up yonder. 
My peace flows as a river. I have a desire 'to de- 
part and be with Christ.' " To a ministerial 
brother he said, "I am unspeakably happy. I am 
waiting in weakness aud pain, but not impatient, 
for God to call me home. I am ready to go at 
any moment. I am a sinner saved by grace. My 
Savior is ever near me. I have no fear, but 
peace, perfect peace. I am waiting for my change 
to come. To all my brethren in the ministry, give 
my heart-felt thanks and dying benediction for 
their kindness and sympathy. My only desire to 
live was for God and the church and my two boys. 
I am glad you referred to the conference. My as- 
sociations with the preachers have ever been of 
the most pleasant character. I have tried to serve 
the brethren as best I could. I love them all 
dearly. I shall go to my rest in full hope that I 
shall meet them all when my work is done. I 
am too young to leave words of counsel, but I 
hope the Cincinnati Conference will always be a 
burning, shining light. This message I send to 
my German as well as my English brethren, for I 
feel a deep interest in our German work. One 
morning when Bro. Riddle asked him how he felt 
he answered, "Struggling into life; struggling into 
life." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 213 

Key. \Y. Martin was born in Madison County, 
Ohio. In 1866 he was received on trial in the 
Ohio Annual Conference. He was a genial, 
sweet-spirited, earnest, and devoted minister. His 
last field of labor was New Holland. Here he en- 
tered upon his work, and while strength remained 
was abundantly successful. But it was to him 
and his devoted wife a year of deep affliction. 
Their two youngest children, a son and daughter, 
were called away by death, and he himself was 
prostrated with typhoid fever. Still, he loved the 
work, and desired if it was God's will to live and 
labor to save souls. Yet he murmured not, but 
calmly gave up all to God, and rejoiced in the 
blessed assurance that all things would work for 
his good. His end was peace. 

Bishop Enoch M. Marvin, D. D., was born in 
Warren County, Missouri, June 12, 1823, and died 
at St. Louis, of pneumonia, November 26, 1877. 
In 1866 he was elected bishop of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, being the youngest and 
yet one of the most earnest and successful in the 
Board of Bishops. 

He had recently completed the circuit of the 
world in a tour of missionary visitations, August 
10, 1877. His letters, which have been quite ex- 
tensively quoted and read, have indicated unusual 
ability. He had the gift, or added sense, perhaps 



214 LAST WORDS AND 

quickened common sense, that enabled him to see 
and tell exactly what we were interested in know- 
ing. He was a man of one work, with more than 
average native gifts, and by study and singleness 
of purpose wielded an influence for good that 
might gratify any ordinary ambition. He was an 
impressive preacher, rising often to sustained 
flights of eloquence. He was a studious, hard- 
working man. He confined his labors to his di- 
vinely appointly field. As we remember him, his 
rather tall, slim, wiry form left the impression of 
one who might be a good cavalry officer and hard 
rider. Looking into his face, one expected 
achievements from its owner. 

He preached and dedicated a church at Kirk- 
wood, near St. Louis, November 18. On Monday 
he attended the Preachers' Meeting; and on Mon- 
day night he had a chill, but it did not seem 
serious. On Sabbath, November 25, at midnight, 
he was taken alarmingly worse, and died on Mon- 
day. 

He seems to have stepped suddenly around a 
corner, and disappeared from mortal vision. In 
the full vigor of mature manhood, and in the 
higher use of his faculties, he passes round the 
world with increasing glory, and suddenly, while 
putting into shape the results of his observations 
for permanent usefulness in the church, he lies 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 215 

down in quietness, to rise up only when called by 
the Master. 

A great worker has gone up out of the vine- 
yard. The workers die, but the work goes on. 
His death was a triumph. 

Rev. William B. Mitchell died October 27, 
1858, aged forty-three years. He was converted 
id his fifteenth year. He was licensed to preach 
October 18, 1845. 

On Thursday evening previous to his death he 
preached his last sermon from the text, "If thou 
hadst known even then at least in this thy day 
the things that belong unto thy peace, but now 
they are hid from thy eyes." On Friday he was 
taken dangerously ill, and on Monday it became 
apparent that he must die. He received the in- 
telligence from his wife with great composure and 
said, "All is well." 

"My God is reconciled, his pardoning voice I hear ; 
He owns me for his child, I can no longer fear." 

To Brother Mooney, who entered his room, he 
said, "I shall get to heaven before you, after all," 
alluding, doubtless, to a conversation held in days 
gone by. "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us 
the victory!" Oh, how precious are the sweet 
promises of the Bible. Oh, how good; how 
sweet!" Throwing up his arms he exclaimed, 



216 LAST WORDS AND 

"Glory! glory!" and then gazing upward said, 
"I see a light ahead." 

Rev. Samuel Maddux, a member of the Ohio 
Conference, and son of Rev. David Maddux, was 
born in Ross County, Ohio, May 2, 1818, and died 
at Logan, November 19, 1852. 

He was a good preacher, and continued in the 
work fourteen years. He had his portion of trials 
as a minister, having been married three times in 
the short period of his itinerant life; though all of 
his wives were deeply pious, and for a short pe- 
riod shared with him in the joys and sorrows of 
an itinerant. Two of them preceded him to the 
holy land. The third is left a widow, to mourn his 
departure; but she is pressing on to the land now 
endeared to her more than ever. 

From the first he said he should not recover, 
and made some arrangements concerning his mat- 
ters, gave some advice to his sorrowing wife, and 
there the matter seemed to end with him ; for al- 
though he lived about two weeks after that, he 
talked less, and appeared to think less, about his 
departure. There is no doubt but he was prepar- 
ed for the event, and was satisfied to go or stay ; 
for to such a one "to live is Christ, and to die is 
gain." 

Rev. John Morris was born in Auburn, New 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 217 

York, September 29, 1856. "I have conquered at 
last! I have conquered at last!" 

Rev. A. W. Musorove was born in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, May 29, 1811. At the age of live years he 
was deprived of his sight by a severe attack of 
measles. He joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in his twelfth year, and in his fourteenth 
year he was converted. His devoted mother read 
to her blind boy God's holy word, much of which 
he hid in his youthful heart. She also taught him 
English grammar. Early in his religious life, 
Brother Musgrove was impressed with the duty 
of preaching Christ. In the year 1830 he was 
licensed to preach. 

As a member of conference he received eleven 
appointments. The disease of which he died 
made rapid progress upon his manly form. His 
noble intellect also suffered a great shock. On 
the 19th of April, 1870, he was struck to the 
ground on his own premises. After he was con- 
veyed into the house it was perceived that he had 
the power to move one hand a little, whereupon 
Brother Jackson said to him, "Brother Musgrove, 
you can not speak to us now, but if Jesus is pre- 
cious to you now signify it by pressing my hand." 
Instantly the desired signal was given, and after a 
few hours he passed from earth away. 



218 LAST WORDS AND 

Brother Musgrove was a man of fine form and 

a good mind; a sound theologian and an able 

minister of Jesus Christ; and he has gone, as we 

fondly hope, 

"To range the sweet fields on the bank of the river, 
And sing of redemption forever and ever." 

Rev. William S. Morrow was born in North- 
umberland County, Pennsylvania, October 3, 1804, 
and died June 19, 1856. Under the ministry of 
the Rev. Arza Brown, he was, on the 7th day of 
January, 1827, brought to the foot of the cross, 
and having meanwhile joined the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, was, in March of the same 
year, clearly justified by faith in Jesus Christ. In 
the fall of 1830 he was regularly admitted into 
the Ohio Conference. 

Brother Morrow was successful in his ministry 
in every essential point. His last sickness was 
very painful, and he endured for about three 
weeks great suffering and agony of body. But it 
did not disturb his inward joy. His mind dwelt 
constantly on the delights that satisfied his soul. 
He spent many hours in telling his friends of his 
rapturous hopes, and in exhorting unconverted 
friends to seek the same pleasures that made his 
dying-bed the most "heavenly place" of his life. 

His last words were, "It will soon be over. 
Jesus is very precious. Glory! glory! Victory! 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 219 

victory! victory over death!" Soon afterward 
his triumphant spirit left the shores of time and 
winged its way to the home that Jesus had pre- 
pared for him in his Father's house. Thus lived 
and died one of nature's noblemen, elevated and 
sanctified by the love of Jesus. 

Rev. Erasmus B. Morgan was born in Wil- 
mington, Vermont, in 1806, and died June 10, 
1872. Three or four days before he died a few 
friends gathered to pray with him. He said, "I 
am too weak to converse with you, but as they 
sung 

"Jesus, lover of my soul," 

and drew near in prayer, his sours strength was 
renewed, and triumphantly he exulted in the 
atoning blood by which he was saved. When 
asked what was the prospect before him he re- 
plied, "All is right. This is not the work of a 
minute, but of a life-time. Bless the Lord." He 
then said, "Death is the sweetest thought I have." 

Rev. Robert Minshall was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, in the year 1788, and died July 10, 1828, at 
Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, in 
the fortieth year of his age and the fifteenth of 
his ministry. 

While the memory of Robert Raikes, as the 



220 LAST WORDS AND 

great author of Sabbath- school instruction, shall 
survive, the name of Robert Minshall, in another 
land, and at another period, should be associated 
with it, as a constant friend and an efficient sup- 
porter. Those societies formed under his direc- 
tion, and cherished and supported by his zeal, 
shall form at least a portion of his monument, and 
the "houseless orphan," as he passes the grave of 
Minshall, shall point to the spot and say, "There 
lies my friend." 

His life was closed in circumstances of great 
mercy. Of his acceptance with God he continued 
to enjoy the strongest assurance. Being asked by 
his deeply- afflicted companion in reference to her 
future situation, should he be taken from her, he 
replied, "I have been a traveling man ; my lot is 
in heaven." He died with the shout of triumph, 
and went to his heavenly home exclaiming* "Glory ! 
glory ! forever and ever." 

Rev. Levi Merritt was a native of Bedford 
County, Virginia. He was received into the Bal- 
timore Conference, held at Lynchburg, in 1808. 
He was abundant in his labors, and greatly be- 
loved — a holy walker. 

On his way from Portsmouth he was attacked 
with nervous fever, near Petersburgh, in July. 
With much pain and perseverance he reached Mrs. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 221 

M. Lunsford's on the 18th, and told her that "he 
had come to die at her house," where he received 
every mark of attention that could be paid to a 
suffering saint. He manifested the greatest de- 
gree of resignation to the divine will, until Sun- 
day, the 27th, on which auspicious day his happy 
soul took its exit in the triumph of faith, and fled 
to an exalted seat in glory. His last words were, 
"I have gained the victory ! Come, Lord; come, 
Lord! I am ready to go. Glory! glory! glory! 
Roll on, eternity, eternity, eternity, eternity. 
Roll on, ages, ages, ages, ages, ages. Roll on." 

"Millions of years my wondering eyes 
Shall o'er thy beauties rove ; 
And endless I'll adore 
The glories of thy love." 

Samuel S. Matthews died at Rochester, New 
Hampshire, September 6, 1847, in the thirty-sec- 
ond year of his age. He was born in Loudon, 
New Hampshire, January, 1816, and was convert- 
ed in 1832, un^er the labors of Rev. James Jones, 
a local preacher. In 1844 he joined the New 
Hampshire Conference, and was stationed at Ex- 
eter Mission. At this place, and at Hampton, 
(where he spent a part of the year,) his labors 
were highly acceptable. 

His sickness was short and very distressing, but 
was endured with great patience and resignation. 



222 LAST WORDS AND 

To the writer he remarked, "I am a young man, 
and have just entered upon the glorious work of 
the Christian ministry. I have a family which 
seems to demand my presence and care; and is it 
mysterious that I should now be called to die? 
But if my death can glorify God more than my life, 
amen." And again, "Tell the preachers I am 
glad I was ever a Methodist minister, though I 
have been but a poor one." 

Lasley Matthews. The following is an ex- 
tract of a letter from Isaac Robbins to Bishop As- 
bury: "This announces to you the departure of 
our respected and beloved friend and brother, 
Lasley Matthews. He wished when he died to 
have but little more said about him than this, 
'Lasley Matthews died in peace, universal peace ; 
for I feel universal peace in my soul.' He ob- 
served that if he had been useful to any it will be 
known in the great day of eternity. He has left 
a will, desiring that his horse, saddle, bridle, sad- 
dle-bags, cloak, great coat, and his wearing ap- 
parel be sold after his death, and the net amount 
paid to the treasurer of the "Chartered Fund." 

Rev. Jonathan Monroe was born in Annapolis, 
Md., June 11, 1801, and died in Westminster, De- 
cember 4, 1869, aged sixty-eight years. As the 
time of his dissolution approached he was immov- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 223 

ably fixed on the "Rock of Ages." On Friday 
before his death he raised his arm, waved his 
hand, and shouted, "The day of jubilee has come ! 
Hallelujah ! " Turning to his daughter Annie he 
said, "I may not keep it longer from you ; I am 
going home. I have toiled and struggled and 
suffered, but now I am going home." That same 
evening, while friends were standing near him, 
he said, "Gentlemen, the Lord is about to disap- 
point you. I shall not leave till the morning. 
One half day with Jesus will compensate me for 
all my sufferings." 

" Go to thy grave in all thy glorious prime, 
In full activity of zeal and power ; 
A Christian can not die before his time, — 
The Lord's appointment is the servant's hour." 

Rev. Octavius Mason was born in September, 
1794. He was converted in 1816, and immediate- 
ly joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, to 
which he was warmly attached while he lived. 
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Hedding, Au- 
gust 1, 1830, and was received on trial in the Gen- 
esee Conference in 1834. 

In early life he submitted to a most painful 
surgical operation for the sake of preaching the 
gospel. He was an able and faithful minister of 
Christ. To a member of the conference who vis- 
ited him frequently during his sickness he said, 



224 LAST WORDS AND 

"The best of all is, God is with us." At another 
time, "During the first two years after my con- 
version I had some doubts; but for thirty-two 
years I have not had a doubt or a dark hour." 
And again, with tears in his eyes, he reached out 
his trembling hand and said, "Preach Christ, 
preach Christ." Again, "Jesus is precious; he is 
all my trust." He sleeps — "Blessed sleep, from 
which none ever wake to weep." May his man- 
tle fall on us. His death occurred October 5, 
1850. 

Rev. George W. Maley was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, January 11, 1799, and died in Urbana, 
Champaign County, Ohio, December 14, 1866. 
He came to Ohio in 1817, where he engaged in 
teaching school. In 1819 he attended a Method- 
ist camp-meeting, at which fifty preachers and 
a number of converted Indians from Wyandott 
Mission, at Upper Sandusky, were in attendance, 
where he was awakened and converted and unit- 
ed with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 
1821 he was licensed to preach, and was admitted 
on trial in the Ohio Conference, of which he con- 
tinued a member until 1845, when he united with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In every 
field of labor he was successful, north and south. 
Thousands were converted and added to the 
church through his instrumentality. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 225 

During his last illness he conversed freely in re- 
gard to his death. He said, "The gospel which I 
have preached to others supports me now. The 
world is empty ; religion is my only trust. I have 
an unfaltering trust in the merits of Christ." As 
death approached his countenance was lighted up 
with heavenly radiance, his former bodily vigor re- 
turned for a time, and he shouted aloud the praises 
of God. After pronouncing a dying blessing up- 
on his children and grandchildren, he pronounced 
a striking eulogy on the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, — its doctrines, discipline, usages, zeal, 
etc., — believing it the most glorious instrumental- 
ity for good in the world. He then said, "I want 
it understood that I die in full sympathy with all 
the Methodists, north, south, east, and west, and 
that I die in peace with with all the world." He 
now turned his eyes heavenward, and with unut- 
terable rapture exclaimed, "How beautiful!" 
These were about his last words, after w r hich he 
became unconscious, and feel asleep in the arms 
of Jesus. 

His travels were extensive. He rode on horse- 
back more than thirty-three thousand miles. 
During his ministry he received over seven thou- 
sand members into the church. 

15 



220 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Alfred Norman was born in Washington 
County, North Carolina, April 22, 1804. For 
fifty years he was a "watchman." He died saying, 
"If it is the will of the Lord that I should suffer, 
I would not, if I could, have my sufferings les- 
sened." At one time he raised his hands and said, 
"Will that gospel which I have so often preached 
to others sustain me in this trying hour? Yes, it 
will; it does sustain me. Tell my brethren of the 
North Carolina Conference that I died prepared; 
and tell my brethren everywhere that I died as I 
lived — in the faith of the gospel of Christ. When 
you look upon me speechless, bear in mind that 
all is well." 

Rev. Joseph Newson, of the Cincinnati Confer- 
ence, died at the parsonage, in New Carlisle, May 
20, 1862. 

He was born November 4, 1808, in Washington 
County, Maryland, and emigrated with his father's 
family to Morrow County, Ohio, in 1826. He 
was converted at a camp-meeting, about a mile 
west of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, September 16, 1830. 
He was licensed to exhort July 23, 1831, and to 
preach July 28,1832. A few months before his 
death, when in company with some who doubted 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 227 

a special call to the ministry, being asked as to his 
call he replied, most emphatically, "If I did not 
firmly believe that God had called me to the work 
ot the ministry I would never preach another ser- 
mon." His preaching was evangelical. He never 
went away from the gospel for subjects of his ad- 
ministration. "Jesus and the resurrection" were 
the themes in which he delighted. 

When it was first announced to him that his 
physician thought it highly probable that he could 
not recover he said, "I know I am very sick. I 
know that I may not recover. I would like to live 
longer with my dear family, if it is the will of 
God; but I am ready to go." When asked if the 
religion he had preached to others sustained him 
now he replied with emphasis, "I have not fol- 
lowed a cunningly-devised fable. I have looked 
over the road to the grave many a time, and now 
it is not dark. It's all light. Not a cloud hovers 
over my spiritual horizon. All is bright!" 

Eev. John P. Neel died July 18, 1835, in St. 
Francis County, Arkansas Territory. Jle was a 
native of South Carolina. Three days before his 
death he was asked if the Lord was with him. 
He lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven and re- 
plied, "Yes; all is well," and praised the Lord 
aloud. The next day he bore a similar testimony. 



228 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Bernard Harrison Nadall died on Mon- 
day, June 20, 1870, at his home in Madison, New 
Jersey. He was born in Maryland, March 2, 1813. 
lie graduated at Dickinson College, and was pro- 
fessor of historical theology in Drew Seminary. 

He was sick but a few days. When told that 
fatal symptoms were developing, he promptly re- 
plied, "I leave the issue entirely with the Lord." 
Thus, as Bacon says, he died "in warm blood, run- 
ning the race at the top of his speed, yet won 
the prize immortal and imperishable life." 

Rev. Richmond Nolle y was a native of Vir- 
ginia. In an early period of his life his parents 
moved to the State of Georgia. About the year 

1806 he was converted to God. In the fall of 

1807 he began to labor in a more extensive man- 
ner, and in the conclusion of the year he gave 
himself up wholly to the Lord and his work. 

The author of these remarks accompanied him 
over the Mississippi and through a vast swamp. 
The difficulties we had to encounter were almost 
incredible. On the 24th day of November we 
parted. The weather was wet and cold. He 
started and went a circuitous way to avoid a bad 
swamp and some deep creeks. There was no 
white person living on the path. In the evening 
he came to a village of Indians. He was to pass 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 229 

a creek, and was apprehensive it would be full. 
He employed an Indian to go with him. When 
he arrived it was as he expected. There was no 
other alternative but to cross or stay with the 
savages; so he left his valise, saddle-bags, and a 
parcel of books, and attempted to ride the stream. 
The current was rapid, and beat him and his horse 
down ; and the banks were steep, so that his horse 
could not get out. In the struggle he and his 
horse parted. He got hold of a bush and pulled 
himself out. His horse swam back to the shore 
whence they started. He then directed the 
Indian to keep his horse until morning, and he 
would walk on to the first house, about two miles. 
He had got about a mile on the way when the 
wet and cold combined stopped his progress. It 
seems he was conscious of his approaching disso- 
lution, and he knelt down on the ground — for his 
knees were both dirty — and commended his spirit 
to God ; and there in the woods death gave him an 
honorable discharge. 

Rev. Reuben Kelson, D. D., was born at An- 
des, New York, December 13, 1818, and died at 
his home in New York City, February 20, 1879, 
being in the sixty-first year of his age. 

In 1840 he was admitted into the Oneida Con- 
ference. In 1844 he was appointed as principal 
of Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, and held the 



230 LAST WORDS AND 

position till the close of the year 1872, giving in 
all twenty years' service to the seminary. 

As a teacher this one idea was always dominant 
in his mind, to make out of his pupils strong and 
noble men and women. All his teaching had this 
end in view, and it is not too much to say that 
thousands have lived purer and better lives be- 
cause he pleaded for their salvation. 

As a preacher Dr. Nelson was always interest- 
ing, and often eloquent. Many of his sermons, at 
camp-meetings especially, w T ill long be remember- 
ed. He was ten times elected secretary of the 
Wyoming Conference, and five times he was sent 
as a delegate to the General Conference. In 1872 
he was elected book-agent, as the successor of Dr_ 
Carleton, and placed in charge of the publishing 
interests at JSTew York. Great energy and sagac- 
ity distinguished his entire administration. At 
three-score years he had accomplished a great 
life's work, as God took him home to rest. 

It was the good fortune of Bishop Simpson to 

call upon him in one of the rational moments 

which he had. The bishop thus describes the 

scene: "I found that he could hear, when I had 

the privilege of speaking to him. I asked Bro. 

M'Cabe, who was with me in his room, to sing a 

verse, and as he sung, 

"Other refuge have I none, 
Hangs my helpless soul on thee," 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 231 

that tongue, which had been able to utter scarcely 
a word, distinctly pronounced 'Amen ! ' He 
showed deep emotion, and signified, in answer to 
a question of his wife, desire for prayer. I knelt 
by his bedside and prayed. He was deeply affect- 
ed, and said 'amen' a number of times. His heart 
showed that same glow of religious fervor which 
he manifested in health. It was a short interview, 
for he was able only to speak a few words; but it 
was a precious occasion to me, showing that while 
heart and flesh were failing, God was the strength 
of his heart and his portion forever. A light 
dawned at the head of the valley, and while his 
feet were in the waters he had an unwavering 
faith in the Savior of sinners." Thus this good 
man died. 

Rev. Robert Newton, D. D., of the Wesleyans, 
and a delegate to the General Conference of the 
General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in America in 1840, was born in England, 
in 1832. In the Lord's vineyard he was truly the 
"noble duke, the hero of a hundred battles." He 
loved to work 

" Jesus, confirm my heart's desire, 
To work and speak and think for thee." 

"I am ready at any time to die." To his daugh- 
ter he said, "He that believeth shall never die." 



232 LAST WORDS AND 

To a minister, "Preach from the heart; preaching 
that flows from the heart does good every day. I am 
a Methodist preacher. Christ Jesus, the ransom of 
sinners, the life from the dead. Praise the Lord ! 
praise him all the earth! I am going — going — 
going to glory. Happy ! Farewell, sin ! farewell, 
death! 'I am the resurrection and the life.'" 



Daniel Ostrander, an old soldier of the cross, 
long the senior minister among the effective mem- 
bers of the New York Annual Conference, having 
fought a good fight and kept the faith, finished 
his course on the eighth day of December, and 
has entered into the joy of his Lord. He was 
born at Plattekill, Ulster County, New York, 
August 9, 1772. His ancestors were Hollanders. 
From the year 1793 to the year 1843, a full term 
of fifty years, so remarkably did the Lord pre- 
serve him that only three Sabbaths in all that 
time was he disabled from pulpit service by sick- 
ness. Where, in the history of ministers, shall 
we find a parallel to this ? 

Through the whole summer he seemed to be 
ripening for glory; and soon after his last mes- 
sage his health failed, and his patient, humble, 
tranquil mind seemed to look cheerfully forward 



OLD TIME-MEMORIES. 233 

to the approaching crisis, to which he drew near 
with all that calm serenity that is common to the 
pure in heart, and died in perfect peace, in full 
prospect of his immortal crown. When in view 
of eternity he was asked if he was ready and will- 
ing to go. He replied, "Yes; I know not any 
reason why 1 should not be." This was the last 
sentence he spoke, so completely was his strength 
exhausted. Yet when it was said to him that 
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life," 
and that St. John said, "Blessed are the dead 
which die in the Lord," he, with joy glowing in 
his countenance said, "Yes;" and when asked if 
Jesus was still precious, with his last and utmost 
effort he cried, "Yes!" So lived, so labored, so 
suffered, and so died our beloved brother, Daniel 
Ostrander, literally worn out in the best cause. 
His whole life, from sixteen years of age to his 
seventy-second year, was a living sacrifice to God. 
What thousands of his children shall rise up in 
the last day and call him blessed ! 

Rev. Francis Asbury O'Farrall was born in 
New York, July 24, 1806, and died October 27, 
1878. "I have fought a good fight." To a min- 
ister he said, "Your work is before you; mine is 
finished. Jesus never forgets those who fight his 
battles. Farewell, farewell ! Go on, and prosper. 
Jesus"— 



234 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. William Ormond was born on Friday, 
December 22, 1769. He was convicted December 
10, 1787; was converted December 11, 1788 ; was 
sanctified March 20, 1790, and died in 1809. He 
was a native of North Carolina. His constitution 
had been failing for some time by his constant, 
fervent, zealous exertions for souls in revivals, in 
which his labors had a considerable share. He 
was happy in God, declaring w T ith his latest breath 
that his soul enjoyed peace, peace; victory, vic- 
victory— complete victory. To a friend hew T rote, 
June 30, 1803 : "I expect to continue upon my 
station, for it appears I can not well leave it at 
this time. I may as well die with the fever as 
with any other affliction ; and there is as direct a 
passage from Norfolk to heaven as from any other 
part of the globe. I have no widow to weep over 
my lifeless body; no babes to mourn for a father; 
and I find this world is a dangerous and trouble- 
some place." 

VanRensselaer Osborn was born in Richmond, 
Mass., October 14, 1791, and died in Manchester, 
Conn., November 29, 1846. He experienced re- 
ligion at the age of twelve, but deferred a public 
profession of it till he was about sixteen, when he 
connected himself with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. He was licensed to preach when about 
twenty, and, after laboring awhile under the di- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 235 

rection of the presiding elder, was received into 
the JS~ew England Conference. 

A violent attack of lung-fever and inflamma- 
tion of the bowels, with a return of complaints 
which had long afflicted him, soon excited serious 
doubts of his recovery; and within a week he 
was dismissed from the toils and sufferings of this 
life. He departed suddenly, but well prepared. 
"I feel a calm, sweet sinking into the will of God. 
I can trust myself wholly in the hands of God. 
I feel that all is well." These and kindred ex- 
pressions, dropped during his distressing illness, 
evinced his happy state of mind. 

Brother Osborn was a plain, practical, and use- 
ful preacher. He visited much "from house to 
house." Revivals usually followed his labors. 
He was eminently a man of prayer. His piety 
was deep and uniform. He loved holiness, and 
delighted to urge others to its attainment. 

Rev. Pharaoh A. Ooden was born in Oldham, 
Lancaster County, England, July 28, 1799, and 
died at his residence in Sidney, Ohio, August 23, 
1876, having lived on earth more than seventy- 
seven years. As health and opportunity allowed, 
he delighted to exercise in the Christian minis- 
try and the promotion of the cause of temperance. 
He highly prized his brethren of the conference, 
and was deeply interested in the prosperity of 



236 LAST WORDS AND 

the church of which he was a member and minis- 
ter. 

He gave to Rev. R. Brandriff, a most intimate 
friend, the following message : "Tell my brethren 
of the conference that I love them all. Tell them 
to make Christ prominent in all their preaching; 
and tell them I die with a good hope of eternal 
life." He lived as the Christian lives, died as the 
Christian dies, and now dwells in the Christian's 
home above. 

Rev. Philip William Otterbein, founder of 
the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, was 
born in Dillenburg, in the Duchy of Nassau, Ger- 
many, June 4, 1826. After a life of three years 
in the ministry in Germany and over sixty-one in 
America, in which he was intimately associated 
with Bishop Asbury and others of his day, he 
died in Baltimore, Maryland, November 17, 1813, 
aged 87 years, 5 months, and 13 days. A few 
days before his departure he ordained Rev. Chris- 
tian Newcomer and Rev. Joseph Hoffman. In 
this he was assisted by Rev. William Ryland, of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. When these 
ministers were departing, Bishop Otterbein said, 
"Farewell ! If any inquire for me, tell them I 
die in the faith I have preached." Some years 
previous, when Bishop Asbury was ordained to 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 237 

the episcopal office, Bishop Otterbein assisted at 
the ordination. 

On the last day he spent on earth, Eev. Dr. 
Kurtz, an Evangelical Lutheran minister, offered 
at his bedside the last vocal prayer. At its close 
Mr. Otterbein responded, "Amen, amen. It is 
finished." After resting a few moments, when 
his friends thought his spirit had fled, he seemed 
to gain new strength for a moment. Then, with 
a slow but distinct voice, he said, "Jesus, Jesus, I 
die; but thou livest, and soon I shall live with 
thee. The conflict is over and past. I begin to 
feel an unspeakable fullness of love and peace di- 
vine. Lay my head upon my pillow, and be 
still." 

Rev. George B. Owens was born in Brunswick 
County, Virginia, July 14, 1809. When in his 
third year his parents and grandparents removed 
from Virginia, and in 1814 settled near Xenia, 
in Greene County, Ohio. In August, 1821, at 
a camp-meeting near his father's house, George 
was converted, and united with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

His wife desired him to return to their home on 
the circuit, but he said, "No ; I am going home to 
die." He was much of the time delirious; but 
even in this condition he was preaching, praying, 
exhorting, or shouting — constantly in the most 



238 LAST WORDS AND 

happy frame of mind, urging all who came to see 
him to meet him in heaven. 

A few hours before his death he suffered ex- 
tremely, but as he neared the brink of Jordan his 
sufferings seemed to subside. At last, calmty and 
triumphantly he passed the valley of the shadow 
of death, exclaiming as with his last breath, 
"Grace sustains me when I die ! " 

Rev. Stephen Olin, D. D., LL. D., was born in 
Leicester, Addison County, Vermont, March 2, 
1797. He graduated at Middlebury College, Ver- 
mont, and immediately went South on account of 
his health, and obtained the appointment of teach- 
er in Abbeville District, South Carolina. He went 
to the South a skeptic in religion. But a rule of 
the school required that it should be opened with 
prayer. Considering this exercise as merely an 
introductory ceremony, he attempted its perform- 
ance. The incompatibility of his conduct with 
his opinions soon however troubled his conscience. 
He was induced to examine the evidences of 
Christianity, and in a few months was praying in 
earnest, a humble believer in the faith he had re- 
jected. The effect of his new convictions was 
profound — they imbued his entire character. A 
sanctity like that of Fenelon and Fletcher of 
Madeley, ever after pervaded his whole being, and 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 239 

habitually revealed itself in his life by the deepest 
humility and the purest charity. 

He was licensed to preach in 1824, and joined 
the South Carolina Conference. In 1830 he was 
elected professor of English literature, in the Uni- 
versity of Georgia. In 1832 he united with the 
Georgia Conference, and the same year was elect- 
ed president of Randolph Macon College, Vir- 
ginia, which position he resigned in 1837, and 
went to Europe for his health. After his return 
to the United States he was appointed president 
of the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Con- 
necticut, where he remained until his death, Au- 
gust 16, 1851. 

Dr. Olin suffered through his whole public life, 
under the effects of too ambitious an application 
to study during his collegiate course. His consti- 
tution was originally robust, his stature gigantic; 
but from the time he graduated till he descended 
into the grave, he maintained an incessant conflict 
with disease. 

As a preacher he was pre-eminent. Though he 
paid little regard to elocutionary rules, but in 
some respects unceremoniously defied them, yet 
was his eloquence overwhelming. 

The imagination had but little to do with his 
pulpit power, — very seldom did a poetic image oc- 
cur in his discourse, — but his logic had a resistless 



240 LAST WORDS AND 

pressure. He possessed the philosophical faculty 
of generalization to an extraordinary degree ; and 
when roused with the excitement of his preaching, 
his conception assumed a breadth and sublimity 
which might well be characterized as stupendous. 
The hearer sat amazed, if not appalled, by the ex- 
hibition of intellectual mightiness in which the 
preacher enthroned the truth. 

The Methodist Quarterly says : " Comprehen- 
siveness, combined with energy of thought, was 
his chief characteristic. Under the inspiration of 
the pulpit it often became sublime — we were about 
to say godlike. "We doubt whether any man of 
our generation has had more power in the pulpit 
than Stephen Olin — and this power in spite of 
very marked oratorical defects. While you saw 
that there was no trickery of art about Dr. Olin, 
you felt that a mighty, a resistless mind was 
struggling with yours. You were overwhelmed — 
your reason with argument, your heart with emo- 
tion." 

His writings are stamped with his intellectual 
excellences. They will rank among the noblest 
productions of the American mind. In this arti- 
cle we have attempted but an outline of his career, 
as the newspapers have lately abounded in fuller 
sketches. To such readers as would more ade- 
quately appreciate one of the greatest intellects of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 241 

our times, we would recommend the perusal of 
his works. 



Rev. Charles B. Parsons, D. D., was born in En- 
field, Conn., July 23, 1805, and died in Louisville, 
Kentucky, December 8, 1871. He joined the 
Methodist Episcopal Church under the ministry 
of Rev. J. K Moffitt, in 1839, and in the fall of 
that same year he was licensed to preach. Few 
could so command the popular ear to his ministry 
for thirty years, as did Dr. Parsons. On the Sab- 
bath preceding his death he was in a very happy 
frame of mind, asserting unequivocally his faith in 
Christ. "All right. I am happy. Jesus Christ 
and him crucified is the ground of my hope." 

"I'll«praise my Maker while I've breath, 
And when my voice is lost in death 
Praise shall employ my nobler powers." 

"Oh, if I had a trumpet voice that would en- 
compass the universe, I would say, G-lory to God ! 
Ready ! All ready ! My trust is all in Christ." 

Rev. Micah Gilbert Purkhiser was born in 
Washington Towuship, Clermont County, Ohio, 
October 15, A. D., 1813. He was converted Au- 
gust 28, 1833, and died April 29, 1875. 

The winter of 1871-5 was one of protracted af- 



242 LAST WORDS AND 

fliction in the family of Brother Purkhiser, re- 
quiring his presence at home almost constantly. 
In the spring of 1875 he was attacked by an ob- 
stinate case of jaundice, which it was found im- 
possible to remove. 

He was frequently visited by ministerial and 
other brethren, and spoken to upon the subject of 
death. His expressions were always prompt, 
clear, and satisfactory. Such expressions as, "I 
know whom I have believed," I have the cordial 
and the balm," were of y frequent occurrence. At 
another time he said, "The wires are laid and the 
poles are all up from stony point to head-quar- 
ters." When asked, the evening before his death, 
if he had a message to his brethren of his confer- 
ence he said, "Tell them I am triumphing glori- 
ously. Tell them to preach Jesus and the resur- 
rection, and they need have no fear of death. " 

A prince and a mighty man in Israel has fallen; 
but he fell with the victor's palm in his uplifted 
hand and the conqueror's crown upon his saintly 
brow. 

As a Christian he lived in an atmosphere of 
cheerfulness and love, promptly performing every 
known duty, and constantly seeking divine guid- 
ance in the small as well as great affairs of life. 
Surely, the world is better and heaven richer for 
his having lived and died. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 243 

Key. Henry Padgett was born in December, 
1791. He was a native of Cbarles Co., Maryland. 
He was converted to God about the eighteenth 
year of his age, and soon felt a deep solicitude for 
the salvation of souls. He was licensed to exhort 
in March, 1813. In 1816 he was received into 
full connection in the Baltimore Conference. 

On seeing the family weeping by his bedside, 
when his disease had become serious, he begged 
them not to weep for him, but rather rejoice that 
he was going to heaven. On a friend's calling to 
see him, he asked him to pray with him, and to 
read the last chapter in Revelation, observing 
that he wished to hear the holy city talked of. 
While he was reading he shouted, glory ! glory ! 
and exclaimed, "I feel no condemnation. All is 
peace. Give my love to the brethren, and to all 
who know me, and tell them to meet me in heav- 
en." He asked what day of the month it was. 
On being told the eighth, he then rejoiced and 
said, "On the 10th day of September I shall be 
singing in heaven. By faith I see Elijah's chariot, 
ready to convey my soul to glory. Glorious pe- 
riod ! welcome messenger ! A few more lingering 
hours iu the flesh, and I shall be in yonder para- 
disiacal state." 

Some time after, when he was told that he was 
recovering, he replied with a smile, "I would 



244 LAST WORDS AND 

rather you had said I was dying ; for I had rather 
die than live." 

On Wednesday morning, being the day on 
which he died, he was heard shouting the praises 
of God while alone in his room; and upon Brother 
F.'s entering the room he looked steadfastly upon 
him and said, "Brother F., my work is done. I 
am dying happy and resigned." In the evening 
he asked who were in the room. It was told him 
no person but the family. "Oh, yes," said he, 
"who are those in white ? They are waiting to 
receive my spirit. I shall soon be gone." A lit- 
tle after he said, "O death, welcome death. Fare- 
well, my brother. I bid you all farewell. I am 
not dead, but living. Oh, yes, living in heaven." 
A few moments after he fell asleep in the arms of 
Jesus, at half-past live o'clock, on the evening of 
the very day which he had before said he should 
be employed in singing the praises of God in 
heaven. 

Rev. James Painter. "I am not afraid to die. 
I know in whom I have put my trust. My trust 
is in the blood and righteousness of Christ." 

Rev. George Pickering was born in Talbot 
County, Maryland, in the year 1769. He preached 
more than fifty years. During the last year of his 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 245 

life he was the "oldest Methodist preacher in the 
world." 

In the semi-centennial sermon of his ministry, 
in 1840, before the New England Conference, he 
said, "I am now an old man, and shall not labor 
much longer with you. But go on, brethren; 
preach Jesus. Preach with the Holy Ghost. 
Preach to the people the blessed doctrine of holi- 
ness. It is the only thing that will bind the 
Methodist Church together." His last words 
were, "My affairs for time and eternity are all 
settled. Glory to God!" 

Rev. Wesley Pearson was born in Alabama, 
September 29, 1827, and died November 3, 1877. 
After prerching Christ eight years he said, "My 
preparation for death was made long ago. All is 
well. I shall rest in heaven. 

Rev. Edward Payson, D. D., died October 2, 
1827, aged forty-four years. "A young man, just 
about to leave this world exclaimed, 'The battle's 
fought! the battle's fought! the battle's fought! 
but the victory is lost forever!' But I can say, 
'The battle's fought, and the victory is won! the 
victory is won forever!' I am going to bathe in 
an ocean of purity and benevolence and happi- 
ness, to all eternity." 



246 LAST WORDS AND 

"So, farewell, 
Leader in Israel ! thou whose radiant path 
Was like the angel's, standing in the sun 
Undazzled and unswerving ; — it was meet 
That thou should'st rise to light without a cloud." 

Rev. Samuel Peirce died October 10, 1799, aged 
thirty-three years. In his last sickness he said, 
"Blessed be His name who shed His blood for me. 
He helps me to rejoice, at times, with joy un- 
speakable. Now I see the value of the religion 
of the cross. It is a religion for a dying sinner. 
It is all the most guilty and the most wretched 
can desire. Yes, I taste its sweetness and enjoy 
its fullness with all the gloom of a death-bed before 
me; and far rather would I be the poor, emaciated 
and emaciating creature that I am, than be an em- 
peror with every earthly good about him, but 
without. a God." 

"Go, child of darkness, see a Christian die ! 
No horror pales his lip, or rolls his eye : 
No dreadful doubts or dreamy terrors start 
The hope religion pillows on his heart. 
When with a dying hand he waves adieu 
To all who love so well, and weep so true, 
Meek as an infant to the mother's breast 
Turns fondly longing for its wonted rest, 
He pants for where congenial spirits stray, 
Turns to his God, and sighs his soul away." 

Eev. William Patridge was born in Sussex 
County, in the year 1754. He was brought up to 
industry, and from his childhood was strictly 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 247 

moral About the twenty-first year of his age he 
embraced religion. His name appears on the 
minutes of 1780, as a traveling preacher. He died 
in Sparta, May 14, 1817. 

As a Christian, numbers have professed sancti- 
fication, but he lived it. One intimately acquaint- 
ed with him writes thus : "I have lived a near 
neighbor to Brother Patridge for upward of twen- 
ty years, and can with satisfaction say that he 
was the greatest example of piety I have ever 
been acquainted with." As a minister of the gos- 
pel he knew the strength of his abilities, and 
never appeared to soar above them. In preaching 
he was experimental, practical, and plain ; and 
none were at a loss to understand him. He drew 
his divinity out of the Bible, and read authors but 
little; but the Scriptures were his constant study, 
and he was profitable to many. He deeply la- 
mented the growing departure, among us, from 
primitive Christian simplicity, and earnestly warn- 
ed the societies among whom he labored against 
it. His labors and life he wished to close togeth- 
er. His last sermon were on these words : "Walk 
in wisdom toward them that are without." That 
evening, May 14, he was taken ill. His illness in- 
creased ; and physicians were procured, but in vain 
His colleague asked him whether he was ready 
for the final summons, to which he replied, "Yes; 
for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." 



248 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Lovick Pierce, D. D., of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, was born in Halifax 
County, North Carolina, March 24, 1785. The 
first year of his ministry was spent in South Car- 
olina, where he had been converted to God. In 
1804 he was admitted into the traveling connec- 
tion, and appointed to Big Pee Dee Circuit, with 
thirty appointments, being three hundred miles 
around, and rivers in abundance to be forded. 

In 1805 he was sent to Georgia. In 1813, with 
shattered health, Dr. Pierce located, and soon aft- 
er was appointed chaplain and breveted captain. He 
continued in the army until it was disbanded. He 
then studied medicine and attended lectures in 
Philadelphia, and returned home to practice. 
This he did for six years, and having cleared 
twelve thousand dollars, he re-entered the travel- 
ing connection in 1823, and closed his work and 
life together in 1879. 

The filial biography of Dr. Pierce will be looked 
for with much interest among all the ministers of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. I have never 
listened to any man who excelled him in clear 
.and pungent expositions of God's word. It was 
my good fortune to sit under his ministry during 
the winter of 1842, while he was stationed in the 
city of Mobile. Bishop Wightman truly says, 
"He was emphatically able to 'teach wisdom 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 249 

among them that are perfect/ having learned it 
by heart and by the heart. A great man ceased to 
live on earth when Dr. Pierce came to his mortal 
hour. "When at length the spirit was set free, 
how stately a retinue awaited the moment of its 
departure. How triumphant, how abundant an 
entrance was ministered to the veteran soldier o\ 
Christ into the everlasting kingdom ! With what 
joy and glory and victory was he hailed by the 
great company of human spirits brought to virtue 
and piety and eternal bliss through his instru- 
mentality." 

Rev. Nathaniel Conrey Parish, M. D., son of 
the late William Parish, was born in West Ches- 
ter, Ohio, and died February 15, 1875. His re- 
ligious experience was of a deep and joyous char- 
acter; and he was wonderfully sustained in his 
last illness. Some of his last utterances were, "I 
should like to live to preach Christ; but if it is 
God's will for me to suffer or die, I submit joy- 
fully. His will is always good. It is wonderful 
how I am sustained. During all these weeks not 
a cloud has obscured my sky." His last message 
was exhorting his brothers and sisters to meet him 
in heaven. 

Daniel Parish died in Newark, April 1, 1848, 
in the forty-ninth year of his age and twenty- 



250 LAST WORDS AND 

eighth of his ministry. He was born in Queens 
County, Long Island. From his childhood, like 
Samuel, he was called of the Lord, to which he 
so readily responded as to seek and find the di- 
vine favor when between his seventh and ninth 
years. He appears to have grown steadily in grace 
until 1819, when, being in his twenty-first year, 
he first connected himself with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

The sickness of our beloved brother continued 
for some weeks, and was of a painful character ; 
but it was endured with marked patience and res- 
ignation. He said, "The Lord has not left me for 
a single moment during the whole of my afflic- 
tion; no, not for a single moment." At another 
time, being the morning of the day on which he 
died, he said to a brother, "I think I shall soon 
get over Jordan." The brother responded, "I 
hope the Lord will suffer you to remain a little 
longer with us." He replied, "Oh, I shall shout 
when I get over." He continued in this happy 
frame of mind until he ceased to live. 

" My soul is ravished at the thought, 
Methiuks from earth I see him rise ; 
Angels congratulate his lot, 
And shout him welcome to the skies." 

Thus lived and died our Christian brother and 
fellow-laborer, who, for more than a quarter of a 
century, sustained an elevated Christian and min- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 251 

isterial character, yet, we believe, without "think- 
ing of himself more highly than he ought to 
think." 

" Inferior honors he disdained, 
Nor stoop'd to take applause from earth.' 

Walter Prescott was born at Pately Bridge, 
York County, England, July 26, 1816. After a 
period of deep penitential sorrow, he received 
the converting grace of God, December 25, 1827. 
His father was a Wesleyan minister ; and we see 
the result of his pious care exhibited in the con- 
version of his son at the age of eleven, and his 
entrance into the ministry at the age of seven- 
teen years. 

He came to America about the year 1831, and 
connected himself with the Missouri Conference, 
with which he remained until the separation of 
the southern conferences from the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. His feelings being with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, he determined to go to 
Indiana, which he did in 1846. That fall he was 
appointed to Jefferson vi lie, where he remained 
two years. He was then appointed to Wesley 
Chapel, in the city of Madison, where he labored 
until his death, July 30, 1849. 

A letter from his venerable father thus describes 
the final separation which took place when his 
son started to America: "His last act before he 



252 LAST WORDS AND 

left Nantwich was to call together his mother, 
three brothers, and three sisters, when he gave 
out the 'Traveler's Hymn,' the 165th of the Wes- 
leyan Hymn-book, beginning with, 'How are thy 
servant's blessed, Lord, after which he joined 
with them in prayer. But when he came to give 
out the last verse, 

4 Our life, while thou preserv'st that life, 
Thy sacrifice shall be ; 
And death, — when death shall be our lot, — 
Shall join our souls to thee,' 

he was entirely overcome, and wept aloud." 

Though he suffered much, it was as the Chris- 
tian suffers— with sufficient grace to cheer each 
gloomy hour. He had the the Bible read to him 
a great deal, and pleaded its promises with migh- 
ty faith. He delighted in pious songs, and re- 
peated with evident depth of feeling a part of his 
favorite hymn, "Jesus, lover of my soul." 

He died in glorious triumph. When told 
that he was in the "valley of the shadow of 
death," he responded, "I am glad." Again 
they told him his labor was done, his work 
accomplished; and again he replied, "lam glad." 
He then, though feeble and exhausted, attempted 
to repeat, 

" Preach him to all, and cry in death, 
Behold, behold the Lamb." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 253 

Rev. T. A. G. Phillips was born in Freder- 
ick County, Maryland, February 24, 1810, and 
died in Springborough, Warren County, Ohio, 
February 28, 1877. He was mostly brought up 
in Clermont County, Ohio, where his father's fam- 
ily resided many years. His parents were earnest 
and devoted Christians. From childhood, there- 
fore, he was surrounded by the influences of a 
Christian home. 

In his last sickness he said, "I have been a minis- 
ter forty years, and have preached many sermons, 
offered many prayers, and taken thousands into 
the church ; and yet I am not trusting in my ser- 
mons or prayers, or anything I have done, but in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and in him alone." When 
the death-chill was upon him he said, in prayer, 
"Christ Jesus, my all in all!" and in a few mo- 
ments all was over. 

Daniel Poe was born in Columbiana County, 
Ohio, November 12, 1809. In the fall of 1832 he 
engaged in the ministry. He was recommended 
to the annual conference held in Dayton for ad 
mission into the traveling connection. In 1841 
he was appointed to Tarleton Circuit, and in 1842 
he was transferred to the Texas Conference. He 
and his devoted companion bid adieu to friends 
and home, rending asunder the tender and sensi- 
tive ties of long and sanctified friendships, and 



254 LAST WORDS AND 

went to distant lands to tell the "news that was 
too good to keep" — the story of the cross. 

In less than two years he fell a martyr to a 
cause for the prosperity of which he made every 
earthly sacrifice, "counting not even his life dear 
unto him that he might finish his course with 
joy." But the best of all is, God was with him. 
In the last moments of dissolving nature he was 
sustained by that gospel which had become the 
power of God unto his own salvation. Being inter- 
rogated as to his preparation for death he an- 
swered, "All is well ; all is well." His sun went 
down in immortal brilliancy ere it had attained its 
full meridian. 

William N. Pearne was born in Rochester, 
England, whence he emigrated in 1822, In 1833 
he entered the New York Conference. 

As a minister Brother Pearne was clear, chaste, 
practical, and fearless, and a passionate admirer of 
the beautiful. He died in Kingston, New York, 
April 30, 1868, exclaiming in his last hours, 
"Happy ! happy ! " 

Rev. George Peck, D. D., a distinguished min- 
ister of the Methodist Episcopal Conference, was 
born in Middlefield, Otsego County, New York, 
August 8, 1797. He united with the church in 
1812. In 1816, when nineteen years of age, he 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 255 

entered the ministry. He was a member of every 
General Conference from 1824 to 1872. In 1840 
he was elected editor of the Methodist Quarterly 
Review, and in 1848 was elected editor of the 
Christian Advocate. He was a delegate to the first 
Evangelical Alliance in London. He was super- 
annuated in 1873, and died May 20, 1876. One 
of his contemporaries wrote concerning him, "For 
the past fifty years of his life he has been distin- 
guished by a devoted love to the church and un- 
swerving loyalty to honest convictions of truth." 
He wrote and published a number of excellent 
books. 

Rev. John W. Perkins was born in Vermont, in 
1814, and died in Boston, February 8, 1858. He 
joined the conference in 1842, and was a faith- 
ful and successful preacher. Among his last 
words were, "I rest on the atonement, and my 
way is clear to heaven." 

Rev. Edward Perronet was a student in Ox- 
ford, and was included in the "Poetic Trio," with 
John and Charles Wesley. In 1748 he com- 
menced his itinerant career. He died in 1792. 
For a time he was employed by Lady Hunting- 
don. His last words were, "Glory to God in tho 
heighth of his divinity! Glory to God in the 
depth of his humanity ! Glory to God in his all 



256 LAST WORDS AND 

sufficiency! Into his hands I commit my spirit." 
He is the author of the hymn commencing, — 

"All hail the power of Jesus' name, 
Let angels prostrate fall. 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all." 

Rev. John Pratt was born in Blackwoodtown, 
New Jersey, February 17, 1842, and died Febru- 
ary 2, 1877. He said, "Tell my brethren in the 
ministry I die with my face toward the 'battle- 
field.' They need have no fears for my safety. I 
die in the triumphs of faith. Praise the Lord!" 

Rev. John Pace was born in King and Queen 
County, Virginia, August, 12, 1764, and died in 
Fulton, Missouri, in the seventy-sixth year of his 
age. He was licensed to preach by Bishop As- 
bury. In the fall of 1790 he joined the itineracy, 
and was appointed to travel Russell Circuit; in 
1791, Roanoke Circuit; in 1792, Tar Creek Cir- 
cuit, North Carolina. In the fall of the same 
year he emigrated to Kentucky, and settled near 
Richmond, Madison County, where he resided 
about forty years, during which time he magni- 
fied his ofiice as a deacon in the church, preached 
extensively, and transacted much business for the 
public, to the entire approbation of all who knew 
him, and with but little intermission filled the 
offices of class-leader and steward. His manner 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 257 

as a preacher was plain and simple, and he never 
failed to make a salutary impression on his con- 
gregations. In the fall of 1834 he removed to 
Missouri, and settled near Fulton. 

Several days previous to his death, his children 
being all present, with a number of other friends, 
he desired singing and prayer, when his soul was 
made to rejoice in hope of endless glory. He 
called his family to his bedside, and, beginning 
with his wife, took them all by the hand and gave 
to each in turn a most impressive admonition, ex- 
horting all to be faithful to God, and never turn 
back. He emphasized and repeated, "Oh, never 
turn back." When he could just whisper he said, 
"Praise! praise! Oh, help me to praise ! " 

Rev. Oliver E. Peebles died at the residence of 
his father-in-law, John Hitch, near Bantam, Cler- 
mont County, Ohio, January 20, . He was 

born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, September 
8, 1821, and moved to Clinton, Ohio, in 1828. 
His mother died in 1831. From that time until 
1839 he*assisted his father in raising his family. 
He was licensed to preach September 22, 1843, 
and in the fall of 1846 commenced traveling on 
New Haven Circuit. 

When the physician informed him, two days 
before his death, that he must die, he told his 
friends that it did not disturb him ; that he had 

17 



258 LAST WORDS AND 

made preparations for that years ago; that his 
trust was in the atoning merits of Christ ; that 
death to him had no sting and the grave no gloom. 
Among the last words that he spoke were, "Praise 
the Lord, my soul; and all that is within me, 
praise his holy name." He died in great peace." 

Q 

Rev. J. Quigly was born in Ohio, in 1836, and 
died May 16, 1872. Early in May he seemed 
"anointed for his burial." On the Thursday 
evening preceding his death he spoke to the peo- 
ple on the subjeet of "full salvation" with such 
pathos and power as to surprise them all, declar- 
ing that he was ready to go at his Master's bid- 
ding. The destroyer came suddenly, but found 
him ready. On his death-bed he said, "I never 
knew before so well what it is to be lost in God — 
to have no will of my own." He then tried to 
sing, "There is a beautiful land. Still later he 
said, "All is right — perfectly clear." 

PL 

Rev. Aquilla Asbury Reese, D. D., was born 

in Baltimore, Md., December 30, , and died 

March 7, 1878. He was "a good minister of 
Christ," whose end was peace. He said, "I now 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 259 

now know that God is love in a higher and sweet- 
er sense than I ever knew before. Tears of grat- 
itude often flow down my cheeks. Oh, I feel that 
Christ is all and in all." 

Rev. J. C. Reed died at his residence near 
Xenia, Greene County, Ohio, December 22, 1854, 
in the twenty-ninth year of his age. He was con- 
verted at a Methodist camp-meeting held near 
Bellbrook, Union Circuit, on the 23d of Septem- 
ber, 1842. The following year he was licensed to 
exhort in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
in September, 1849, was licensed to preach, and 
was recommended as a suitable person to be re- 
ceived into the traveling connection. On the 
18th of the following May, in Coulter's Chapel, 
while Brother Brooks was preaching from I. John 
iv. 16, he obtained the blessing of perfect love. 
He continued to travel and preach till the end of 
his fourth itinerant year. During that year his 
health almost entirely failed, and he was obliged 
to desist. He continued to decline till he was 
taken down ; and as his dissolution began to has- 
ten he peacefully resigned himself, his little fam- 
ily, and all into the hands of his heavenly Father. 
He gave the most satisfactory evidence to those 
who visited him that the gospel he had preached 
to others was the only source of joy and comfort 



260 LAST WORDS AND 

to him. A short time before he expired he said, 
"I not only expect to get just inside the gate, but 
that an abundant entrance into the heavenly king- 
dom will be ministered unto me." Many similar 
expressions he continued to use till he passed 
through death triumphant home. 

Rev. William H. Kaper was born in a block- 
house, in Weston, Pa., September 24, 1793, and 
died February 11, 1852, in the fifty-ninth year of 
his age and the thirty-fourth of his ministry. He 
was a most devoted patriot; and, as a Christian 
minister, no man prayed more for his country than 
he did through life, especially the latter part of 
his life, both in and out of his pulpit. After 
traveling one year under the presiding eld- 
er, he was received as a traveling preacher by 
the Ohio Conference, at Cincinnati, in 1819. He 
remained in the effective ranks about thirty years, 
when his health failed, and he had to change 
his relation. At the time he began, and for 
years after, the country was new, the roads bad, 
circuits large, work hard, fare rough, and pay 
poor. Few men now living have swum more 
creeks and rivers on horseback to meet their ap- 
pointments, or experienced more toil, exposure, 
or hardships, than he ; and certainly few, if any, 
have more successfully executed their gospel mis- 
sion. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 261 

In the early part of February, 1852, he accom- 
panied Bishop Morris to Aurora, Indiana, to at- 
tend a quarterly meeting and visit his old friends 
in that place. There he preached his last sermon 
with peculiar clearness and effect. On Tuesday, 
February 10, he started for home, in company 
with Bishop Morris, on the steamer Forest Queen. 
He was attacked some time in the night with 
spasms; and when his condition was discovered 
by the brother who was in the same room con- 
sciousness was gone. The boat being in port, 
medical aid was immediately secured ; and all 
that human skill could do was done, but to no 
saving effect. He was carefully and tenderly con- 
veyed to the bosom of his family, where he expired 
about half-past six p. m. Although not permitted 
to give a dying testimony, his devotion to God 
and the church, and the purity of his life, give 
assurance that he mingles with just men made 
perfect. 

Rev. Joseph Adams Keeder was born in Leba- 
non, Ohio, September 17, 1797. He was married 
April 1, 1818, and settled in Montgomery. At 
Chester, February 28, 1829, he was licensed to 
preach. At the session of the Ohio Conference 
in 1829 he was received on trial ; and 1844 found 
him on North Bend Circuit, with Jacob Young 
as colleague. At the end of the year he was su- 



262 LAST WORDS AND 

perannuated, and in 1847, at his own request, was 
located. By the Cincinnati Conference, in 1871, 
he was re-admitted, but remained superannuated 
till his death, which occurred November 24, 1878, 
at Westwood, Hamilton County, Ohio. 

He kept a very strict account of iiis receipts 
and expenditures during his "effective life," and 
found that he spent $262 more than he received. 
He was a good man, his piety being of that cheer- 
ful type that diffused encouragement. His ser- 
mons were always edifying ; his exhortations were 
tender, and yet impressive; his prayers were the 
outbreathings of a soul that had much to do with 
God. The soul of honor in his business, the 
world respected him. Always at his post, always 
consistent, the church loved him. The last day 
of his life he left the family room at about 3:30 p. 
m., to lie down in his own room. After a short 
time his daughter-in-law went in to see if he was 
comfortable, and found that he passed through a 
severe hemorrhage. At ten o'clock he was un- 
conscious, and in a short time breathed out his 
life, at the age of eighty-one years of natural life. 
For more than sixty years he was a happy Chris- 
tian. 

Rbv. Thomas S. Richards was born in Balti- 
more City, September 13, 1834, and died in Balti- 
more County, December 26, 1869. His work was 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 263 

done well, and he was ready to depart. A friend 
who visited him in his last moments found him 
quietly humming, 

" Rocks and storms I'll fear no more, 
When on that eternal shore." 

Soon afterward, in faltering and joyous accents, 
he repeated the familiar lines, 

" O God, our help in ages past, 
Our hope for years to come ; 
Our shelter from the stormy blast, 
And an eternal home." 

He went down gently into the valley, saying, 
"Heaven, sweet heaven ; I am going there." His 
last intelligible words were, "Let me go; the day 
breaketh." 

Jesse Richardson was born in Virginia, April 
24, 1765. He was converted May 27, 1785, and 
soon after began to call sinners to repentance. In 
May, 1788, he was admitted on trial in the travel- 
ing connection. After traveling five years with 
great usefulness his health failed, and he was com- 
pelled to desist. 

He preached his last sermon from the words, 
"Whosoever believeth on the Son of God hath 
the witness in himself." He was very happy. A 
few weeks later he was attacked with a disease of 
the lungs which caused his death. During his 



264 LAST WORDS AND 

illness he manifested a meek resignation to the 
will of his Creator. He said, "I have the best 
truth of the Bible to die on, — the divinity of 
Christ. I have faith in this. All is consoling to 
me beyond the tomb." At another time he said, 
"I have nothing to fear. I believe in the God- 
head of Christ, have preached it, lived on it, and 
now die on it, — glad to rest my everlasting all on 
the divinity of my Redeemer." 

William Ross, of the Philadelphia Conference, 
was born in Kent County, Delaware, in May, 1787. 
Five days before his death a Christian minister 
called to see him, and on inquiry found him hap- 
py in God. His humble sense of the divine good- 
ness made him observe the smaller as well as the 
greater manifestations of mercy. He said, "The 
good Lord has given me another good night's rest. 
Glory be to his holy name ! " On being asked if 
he enjoyed peace with God through our Lord Je- 
sus Christ his joyful reply was, "Glory to God ! I 
have a hope that reaches beyond the grave. Glory 
to God ! I am more established in the doctrines I 
have been preaching than ever before, and that 
the Scriptures are the fundamental doctrines of 
salvation. Brother C, preach Jesus Christ and 
him crucified to a fallen world." He died February 
22, 1823 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 265 

Kev. Martin Ruter, missionary to Texas. The 
following tribute to his memory, affectionately in- 
scribed to his bereaved family, is taken from the 
Christian Advocate and Journal : 

" I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall 
give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them al- 
so that love his appearing." II. Tim. iv. 7, 8 

Clad in the armor of the Lord of hosts, 
The Christian warrior seeks his Savior's foes ; 

No sinewy frame, no strength of arm he boasts, 
But in the might of Israel's God he goes — 

He goes to gain a deathless victory ; 

He goes to set the sin-bound captive free. 

No earthly weapon in his hand he bears ; 

No earthly kingdom does he seek to win; 
No earthly robe, of gorgeous hue, he wears 

His glorious panoply is all within. 
He stands begirt with holy truth around, 
And on his brow salvation's helmet's bound. 

Behold his shining breast-plate ! Righteousness 

Is graven there in lines of living light. 
For a device, his shield bears the impress 

Of the great sacrifice on Calvary's height. 
The shield of faith, it quenches every dart 
That Satan's malice aims against the heart. 

He hasteth to the battle. His swift feet 
Are shod with sandals of pure gospel grace ; 

And as he burnetii on the foe to meet, 
Is there one wish bis footsteps to retrace? 

No ; all his heart holds dear is freely given 

A living offering to the God of heaven. 



266 LAST WORDS AND 

Hark ! to the stirring trumpet's thrilling sound, 

List! it is wated on the western wind; 
With no uncertain tone it breathes around 

A message to rebellious, lost mankind, 
" Mercy and tenderness, and truth and love, 
To erring man below, from God above." 

The veteran of the cross hath wide unfurled 
The crimson banner of his conquering Lord, 

And now he wieldeth, o'er a yielding world, 
The two-edged sword of God's all-potent word. 

The foe surrenders. Joyous shouts proclaim 

From rank to rank the Victor's name. 

Listen! there comes a low, sad, sorrowing wail 

'Mid the triumphant sounds of victory. 
Can grief in such an hour the heart assail? 

Can joy like this be dashed with agony ? 
Yes ; for amid the battle's raging strife 
The Christian warrior hath lost his life. 

Bereaved ones, your faith is sorely tried, 
Yet hear this promise, to th' afflicted given— 

"Ye shall come forth as gold" — all purified 
From earthly stain and dross, and fit for heaven. 

There shall your grief be turned to rapturous joy, 

Eternal triumph, bliss without alloy. 

Rev. Nelson Rounds was born in New York, 
May 4, 1807, and died in Washington Territory, 
January 2, 1874. After blessing the members of 
the family present he said, "Give my love to the 
absent ones without limit, — my richest bless- 
ings upon them. Tell them I have no fears of 
death other than physical suffering. All beyond 
is bright and clear. Tell them to meet me in 
heaven." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 267 

Rev. Samuel W. Russel was born in Maine, De- 
cember 24, 1853. On his deathbed, after he had 
spent an "hour talking with God," as he termed 
it, he said, "All is well; the future is bright. I 
have had such a beautiful dream." He then said 
to his wife, "I am dying now. I am going safely 
home." 

William Ryder was born in Dorchester Coun- 
ty. Md., October 13, 1773. He experienced relig- 
ion February 23, 1805, and immediately connected 
himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Being constrained by the love of Christ, he, like 
Paul, straightway began to exhort his neighbors 
to flee from the wrath to come. 

Brother J. B. Ayres, in an obituary published 
in the Christian Advocate and Journal, October 
13, 1837, says: "I had the satisfaction of sitting 
up with him the last night of his life. He spoke 
freely of the gracious dealings of God with his 
soul, and of the sore conflicts and deep waters he 
had passed through. He said, 'I have often af- 
flicted myself when God has not laid his chas- 
tising rod upon me. The enemy of my soul has 
often pursued me closely, and frequently tried to 
rob me of my confidence in God, and of the evi- 
dence of my acceptance with him, and of my use- 
fulness to my fellow-men. But, glory be to God, 



268 LAST WORDS AND 

when I have been suitably tried the Lord has in- 
variably interposed in my behalf, rebuked the 
enemy, cleared my sky, and blessed my soul ; and 
I have always praised him, and sometimes shout- 
ed for joy.' He then added, 'My work is done, 
and the conflict is past ; I am free. My way is 
clear, my confidence strong, and my soul happy ; 
and I shall soon be in heaven. Of this I have no 
doubt. But all my dependence is on the atoning 
blood of Christ. Other refuge have I none; 
through it I shall have everlasting life, and be 
eternally happy. Glory ! glory !' " 

Rev. Nelson Reed, an aged and venerable serv- 
ant of Jesus Christ, is numbered with the dead. 
Full of years and honor, and cheered by the hope 
of a blissful immortality, he closed his career of 
protracted usefulness in the eighty-ninth year of 
his age, on the 20th of October, 1840, at his resi- 
dence in Baltimore, Md. 

Father Reed was born in Anne Arundel County, 
Maryland, November 27, 1751. The period of 
his conversion to God is not distinctly ascertained. 
His name as an itinerant preacher first appears on 
the records of the church in 1779, though it ap- 
pears from the best sources of information that 
he commenced his public ministry in the summer 
of 1775. Formidable were the difficulties with 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 269 

which he had to contend in the prosecution of his 
glorious work. Neither deterred by danger nor 
intimidated by the threats of an infuriated mob, 
he pursued the "even tenor of his way," testifying 
the gospel of the grace of God. After forty-five 
years of effective service he took a superannuated 
relation, and at the time of his decease was the 
oldest Methodist preacher in Europe or America, 
having for sixty-five years preached the unsearch- 
able riches of Christ. During the long period of 
his ministry he never was the subject of an offi- 
cial charge. His reputation was perfectly un- 
blemished, no shade of suspicion ever having 
darkened its steady and sun-like splendor. 

When the pale, quivering lip and beamless eye 
donoted his end he said, "My dependence is not 
on my works ; it is on the Rock Christ Jesus cru- 
cified." 

Rev. William Romaine died July 28, 1795, aged 
eighty-one years. When near his departure he 
said, "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty! 
Glory be to thee on high for such peace on earth 
and good-will toward men ! I have the peace of 
God in my conscience, and the love of God in my 
heart. I knew the doctrines I preached to be 
truths, but now I experience them to be blessings. 
Jesus is more precious than rubies ; and all that 



270 LAST WORDS AND 

can be desired on earth is not to be compared to 
him." 

Death finds him prepared— 'tis a message of peace, 
A mandate of mercy to give him release ; 
His Savior is with him, — the valley is past, — 
Those accents of triumph and joy were his last! 
And, freed from its prison, his spirit flies 
To the home of his heart, beyond the skies. 

Dr. George Roberts, whose name is like "oint- 
ment poured forth,' ' was born in Maryland. He 
commenced preaching in 1790. His last hours 
were triumphant. A night or two previous to 
his death his son urged him to "spare himself, " 
and told him his shouts disturbed his neighbors. 
He immediately replied, "Be quiet, my son; be 
quiet, my son. No, no. If I had the voice of an 
angel I would rouse the inhabitants of Baltimore 
for the purpose of telling the joys of redeeming 
love. Victory ! victory ! victory through the 
blood of the Lamb ! " 

Rev. L. J. Rhoads was born in Pennsylvania, 
July 10, 1808, and died in New Jersey, December 
20,1871. We give a few of his last sayings: 
"What raptures ! " "I have bread to eat ye know 
not of." "I shall never die." "Angel voices in 
the distance." "Do you hear them?" he was 
asked. "Yes/' he answered. "Oh, glory, halle- 
lujah!" 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 271 

Rev. David Reed said, "I am pretty near home. 
It has been a life- time work with me to prepare 
for this hour. I have preached Christ sin- 
cerely. I shall be no stranger in heaven. All is 
bright; no clouds. Sing for me, 

1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee.' " 

Rev. James Reed was born in Maryland, Janu- 
ary 12, 1780, and died June 16, 1850, in full pos- 
session of all his powers. He said, "God is with 
me, and lights up the gloomy pathway. Christ is 
mine, and I am his saved and redeemed servant. 
For such a hope as this let the world's foundations 
be cast away." 

Rev. John W. Richaedson was born in Calvert 
County, Maryland, September 14, 1810, and died 
March 18, 1850. A short time prior to his de- 
parture he said his mind was in perfect peace, 
undimmed by a doubt, and the heaven of his hope 
unsullied by a cloud. Thus this servant of Christ 
passed away from the fellowship of the saints on 
earth to the society of angels and of God, giving 
assurance with his latest breath that he should 
soon "see the King in his beauty, and behold the 
land that is afar off." Rest, sainted brother, in 
peace. Rest from thy labors, aud thy works shall 



272 LAST WORDS AND 

follow thee. Though dead, still speak to thy 
friends of the victories of grace. 

" Tell them, though 'tis an awful thing to die, 

'Twas so to thee, yet that dread path once trod, 
Heaven lifts its everlasting portals high, 
And bids the pure in heart behold their God." 

Rev. Joab W. Ragan died October 3, 1834, aged 
thirty-two years. A few moments before his 
death he said to his brother, Rev. Zanah Ragan, 
"Zanah, I have honestly preached the gospel of 
Christ to sinners for a number of years. I have 
often prayed for the extension of the kingdom of 
Christ; but now my labors are ended. I have, 
however, one prayer which I desire to offer." 
Then, clasping his hands and lifting his bright 
blue eyes to heaven, he said, "Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit; and may I dwell forever in the ocean 
of unfathomable love." 



Rev. Thomas Sewall, D. D., was born in the 
town of Essex, Massachusetts, April 2, 1818, and 
died in Baltimore, August 11, 1870. His health 
finally failed, and he went home from Washington 
City to "get all things in readiness to die." 

How he faced the inevitable may be told by an 
extract from a letter written to a cherished friend : 
"Dear H.— Some old scold says, 'Poor everybody 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 273 

that sighs for earthly remembrance in a planet 
with a core of fire and crust of fossil.' Admit 
that we stand upon the bones of dead ages, and 
underneath are the lighted magazines which are 
to execute the last sentence. Still, a world which 
pleased the Savior to tread for thirty years, and 
to the bosom of which he committed the keeping 
of his body for three days, is good enough for us 
without the 'fossil and the fire.' To tell you the 
truth, I am hopelessly sick, and it is only a ques- 
tion of time, and that not long, when the end 
must come. 

"While I held a position in the custom-house, 
although the duties were light and altogether to 
my taste, my strength so imperceptibly oozed 
away that before I was aware of it the ' weary 
wheels' nearly stood still. My tent was pitched 
very near the river. After my resignation the 
tent-pins were drawn one night and a new sight 
was assigned, no farther back from the cold 
waters, and there I am now. But what a throat ! 
What a cough ! And what a prostration I am suf- 
fering. No matter. Beloved, I have been trying 
to look things squarely in the face, and to provide 
for them. Grod is and has been mysteriously mer- 
ciful to me. Think of it. He knoweth our (par- 
ticular) 'frame, and remembereth that we are dust.' 

18 



274 LAST WORDS AND 

So he is handing me down as softly as you laid 
back upon the pillow your little wasting cherub. 

"It has pleased him to allow the sapping and 
mining to go on silently and gently only as one 
after another of the air-cells closes up, and a hard, 
sharp cough announces that disease has made ad- 
vance, and that my reserved vitality must fall 
back. Then again, "How good he is not to let the 
dark terror of the end fall across my path. I am 
no philosopher, no hero, no such Christian as dare 
to hope for exemption from what has made the 
best and gravest grow pale ; and yet God has hid- 
den this from me, and I am allowed unperturbed 
to say, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I do 
say it, and know that he hears me. Ah, 
brother, the old gospel, a square repentance, a 
square atonement, a High -priesthood — Christ first, 
last, and always! The new lights are puffed out 
by the wild winds that sweep over the valley that 
is before me. 

"At last I reckon that most of the literature of 
heaven will be the storied illustration of the Di- 
vine Wisdom in the experience of poor, saved sin- 
ners. O my God, on those bright shelves of 
marvels, far down and obscure, yet there may a 
little tract be found, entitled, 'How it pleased God 
through Jesus Christ his Son to save Thomas 
Bewail.' " 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 275 

So was it all the time. Books, friends, thoughts, 
the song of birds, the music of home, were dear to 
him to the last. All the peculiarities of his came 
into full yet gentlest play. He sat in an atmos- 
phere of sunshine, and listened to the songs of 
heaven. 

Free from morbid self-study, he constantly rest- 
ed on Christ with a love that was touching and a 
faith quietly constant. To another friend he 
wrote: '-Disease has taken me far hack from the 
intreuchments I held when you were here, and I 
did think that the final flanking and surrender 
were very near. Since then a marked improve- 
ment has taken place, and I only can interpret it 
as a gracious display in protracting my probation. 
Dear brother, it is an unspeakable blessing, under 
circumstances like these, to know where to go for 
help; and I do rejoice and bless God that I never 
was permitted to 'lo here!' and 'lo there!' after 
strange Saviors. Xo; mine has sometimes had 
his head upon the pillow, in seeming forgetful ness 
of his charge. But gloomy as the hour might 
have been, the thought that Omnipotence slept in 
that quiet arm, behind that closed eye, diviue love 
filled that breast. How could I want another Re- 
deemer? I never did; I do not now/' 

"May it please him to accept me. The goodness 
of God is beating my pathway. It is narrow, but 



276 LAST WORDS AND 

it is smooth. Again, what I have done seems 
nothing. Christ is everything. Always it was 
the good confession of a trust that did not waver." 
In the sharpest suffering he was perfectly patient, 
and even delighted to speak of the goodness that 
was leading him gently. He said, "I am held in 
silence, that I may get ready intellectually and 
spiritually for my change. God is letting me 
down easy." Dr. L. F. Morgan says, "His last 
whispers fell upon my ear, which were to assure 
me of his 'abiding faith in Christ, which complete- 
ly unclothed death of all terror.' " 

Rev. Clinton "W*. Sears was born April 27, 1819, 
in Chautauqua County, western New York. He 
was converted to God at eleven years of age. His 
father died when he was but a lad. Having but 
a pittance from his father's estate, not sufficient to 
defray the expenses of a collegiate education, yet 
he was inflexibly determined to obtain it. After 
preparing himself as best he could, he entered 
Yale College, and afterward the Middletown 
Wesleyan University, where he graduated. 
After having served the church faithfully in 
several important stations, he was appointed 
chaplain of the Ninety-fifth Regiment Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry, and went with it into the 
State of Kentucky, and subsequently into the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 277 

State of Mississippi. He was with the regiment 
in the glorious campaign which resulted in the cap- 
ture of Jackson, the siege and surrender of Vicks- 
burg, and the opening of the Mississippi. At the 
latter place he was taken with diarrhea, which 
prostrated him so far as to cause him to resign his 
office. He returned home July 15, greatly pros- 
trated, and gradually sunk till the 29th of August, 
when he fell asleep in Jesus. 

Brother Sears, while in college, obtained the 
blessing of "perfect love," the evidence that "the 
blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin." He was a 
good scholar, an able preacher, a faithful pastor. 
His last days on earth were full of triumph. Ex- 
pressions of praise to God continually fell from 
his lips. One of his last expressions was, "Praise 
to God the Father, God the Son, and God the 
Holy Ghost!" And as he went down into the 
waters of death he sent back the cheering words, 
"All is well!" 

Rev. Robert O. Spencer was born at Columbia, 
Ohio, February 10, 1806, and died August 30, 
1858. Having embraced religion in the eleventh 
year of his age, he commenced preaching when 
only seventeen. In the fall of 1824 he was admit- 
ted on trial into the Ohio Annual Conference, and 
appointed to Brush-Creek Circuit. The last min- 



278 LAST WORDS AND 

isterial duty which he performed, and finished on 
the bed of death, was the preparation of a mission- 
ary discourse, to be delivered before the annual 
conference, closing with that solemn, prophetic, 
and may we not say in view of the issue, divinely- 
directed prayer, "Even so come, Lord Jesus; and 
come quickly." 

Shortly before his death he requested his friends 
to sing, 

"Oh, land of rest, for thee I sigh." 

And attempting to join them, he became exceed- 
ingly happy. Suddenly his w T hole countenance 
kindled up with a heavenly smile, and became 
luminous and radiant, as if it had been that of an 
angel, while he shouted, "Salvation unto God and 
the Lamb forever." 

Eev. William E. Spahr was born in Greene 
County, Ohio, August 1, 1843. At fourteen years 
of age he united with the church. He was a man 
of deep piety, and seemed never to have lost the 
simplicity of childhood; for in the world he was 
as unsuspecting as a child. His life was truly ex- 
emplary, and all could take knowledge of bim 
that he had been with Jesus. He soon became 
impressed that it was his duty to preach ; and the 
church licensed him to preach in 1861. In the 
autumn of 1863 he was admitted on trial in the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 279 

Cincinnati Conference. In 1864 be was appointed 
to New Carlisle Circuit, This was to him a year 
of great feebleness and suffering. He loved the 
ministry and clung to it. He desired to live to 
preach Jesus and save souls. Fatal consumption 
had seized him, and from this conference he went 
home to his parents to die. He failed rapidly, 
suffered patiently, and was often very happy. On 
the 30th of November he sweetly fell asleep. in 
Jesus, saying to his father after he had entered 
into the valley, "If this is dying, 'tis sweet to die." 
He promised much to the church; but, "nipped by 
the wind's untimely blast," he has faded away 
from earth to bloom in heaven. 

Rev. Moses Smith, D. D., was born in Chatham 
County, North Carolina, February 28, 1817, and 
died in Newton, Jasper County, Iowa, August 25, 
1869. During his college-life he was a model 
Christian, exemplary in all his deportment, and 
ready to labor and suffer for Christ. He was a 
man of wonderful power in prayer. In his room 
he had prayer nights and mornings, and at inter- 
vals he could be heard in earnest pleading with 
God. Prayer-meetings were held in his room, in 
which thirty or forty of his fellow-students were 
converted to God. He was superintendent of the 
Sabbath-school and a class-leader for years in Au- 
gusta. 



280 LAST WORDS AND 

He was licensed to preach at Minerva, Ken- 
tucky, by Rev. Isaac Collard, then presiding elder 
of the Augusta District, January 31, 1842. He 
joined the Ohio Conference, September 27, 1842. 
He entered zealously upon his work ; but in a 
short time his health failed, and he was compelled 
to retire from the work to which he had devoted 
twenty- six years of his life. Friends persuaded 
him to seek relief at the Springs, in Adams 
County ; but the effect was only partial. As a last 
resortjie visited his sister, Mrs. Mary Duncan, in 
Newton, Iowa. He reached there in a prostrate 
condition. Such was the deep mental depression 
under which he labored that he said but little. In 
prayer and conversation he expressed the desire 
to preach the gospel, but said, "The will of the 
Lord be done." When informed by his sister 
that the physician had but little if any hope of 
his recovery he replied, "Then we must trust in 
God and await the result." 

On the night before he died his sister said to 
him, "Does the gospel which you have preached 
to others support you now, and do you feel that 
Jesus is with you now?" He bowed an affirma- 
tive assent, and looked upward. 

He leaves three sons and one daughter to mourn 
their loss. In person he was tall and dignified. 
He possessed a voice of great compass and sweet- 



OLD TIME MEMORIES. 281 

ness. When aroused, be was surpassingly eloquent. 
At such times thousands would hang with speech- 
less wonder upon sermons and exhortations. He 
was a "revival preacher." 

Rev. Thomas Hewling Stockton, D. D., was 

born . He was an eloquent preacher. 

Henry Clay, himself a prince of orators, pro- 
nounced him the most eloquent man in America. 
President Lincoln said he had never heard such 
an utterance from mortal lips as Stockton's pray- 
er at the dedication of the Soldiers' Cemetery at 
Gettysburgh, Pennsylvania; and to the influence 
of that prayer he attributed a deep awakening in 
his own breast. Truly, he was a "burning and a 
shining light." How did he die? The last rec- 
ord — but one by his own hand — in his journal, 
which he had kept for thirty years, is this, "All 
that I can say just now is, that if I die I wish to 
die as a Christian; nothing more, nothing less; 
a Christian, a humble disciple of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ; to be acknowledged by him, 
I trust, through grace, — whether by men or not, — 
as the brother, however unworthy of every other 
Christian on earth or in heaven. As such I hope 
to be a joint heir with him, and so with them in 
attainment and enjoyment of the absolute and im- 
mortal perfections, the infinite felicities of eternal 
life. 



282 LAST WORDS AND 

"I repeat my conviction, that all that God is to 
man, he is in Christ; and all that man is to God, 
is in Christ ; so that Christ is all and in all — all 
of God to all his people." 

This that follows is his own last writing: "So 
still I wait. It seems nothing more can be done 
than they are doing. Once more, therefore, I re- 
sign myself entirely unto thy mercy in Christ 
Jesus, O thou God of my salvation. For myself, 
my children, and relatives, my friends generally, 
as for the church and for all men, I have no high- 
er hope, no other prayer than that thy will be 
done, Lord, forever. Amen." After passing a 
severe struggle he said, "This is the way it will 
come, you see. If it should come now, be thank- 
ful instead of grieving. Be thankful. Don't grieve. 
It's all right as it is." At one time, when sud- 
denly awakening from a quiet sleep he said, 

"And are we yet alive, 

And see each other's face ? 

Glory and praise to Jesus give 

For his redeeming grace." 

He afterward quoted a score of hymns and 
poems, and pronounced the following as one of 
the most handsomely-turned sentences he had ever 
met: 

"Time will subdue, 
What will not time subdue? " 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 283 

Again : 

"In age and feebleness extreme, 
Who shall a feeble world redeem 
'Tis only Jesus by his blood, 
Can raise a sinking soul to God." 

"Jesus, my only hope thou art, 
Strength of my failing flesh and heart; 
Oh, could I catch a smile from thee, 
And drop into eternity." 

A few days later he said, "There are three pas- 
sages of scripture that are of particular interest as 
expressing at different times ray condition. The 
first is this, 'What time I am afraid I will trust in 
thee ' Then I got on so I could say, 'I will trust 
in the Lord, and not be afraid.' And then I got 
on further until I can now say, 'Trust in the Lord 
forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
strength.' " 

At another time he said, "I tell you, my son, 
that I am very near the end ; and if the doctor 
says it is so, I will say, Thank the Lord ! The 
sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the 
law. But, thanks be unto God, who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, there is 
no sting in death to me. That is all taken away ; 
and now the victory is mine." 

Still later he said, "Oh, how I desire, and how 
my desires increase, to know things as they are; 
to be at the center of intelligence and understand 



284 LAST WORDS AND 

all the truths in nature, providence, and grace ; 
to see my Savior as he is. 

'Oh, if my Lord would count me meet, 
My soul would wing her way in haste ; 
Fly fearless through death's iron gate, 
1 Nor feel the terrors as she passed.' 

"I am approaching the moment which I have 
always considered of the greatest importance — ex- 
tinction or continuance of being. Philosophy 
says, 'Extinction.' Infidelity says, 'Extinction.' 
Sense says, 'Extinction.' Faith says, 'Immortal- 
ity.' Religion says, 'Immortality.' Christianity 
says, 'Immortality.' One thing is certain, some- 
thing always has been. Something continues to 
exist. If the individual fails, life still continues in 
the race. Infidelity can not gainsay this." Then 
again with assurance he said, "I am going to see 
the grandest thing in the universe — the light of 
the knowledge of the glory of God as it shines in 
the face of Jesus Christ our Lord." 

His last utterance was this passage, "I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith." "Yes," 
said the dying, "I have fought the fight, but not 
bravely. I have won the race, but not well. I 
have kept the faith." "Yes," said he, brighten- 
ing up, and smiling and emphasizing every sylla- 
ble, "I have kept the faith," against men and all 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 285 

opposition. Oh. I have kept the faith ! That is 
the banner. I have held fast to that, and now I 
expect to receive the crown of glory. M 

Eev. John Shot was born in barren County, 
Ohio, March 2, 1824* and died at West Mansfield, 
Logan County, Ohio, September 26, 1871. 

He was admitted to the Cincinnati Conference 
in 1854. In 1S61 he was employed in the 
-Christian Commission." At the close of the war 
he was appointed as county Bible agent. On the 
13th of June, 1868, he was struck with paralysis, 
and in 1S71 he received a second stroke. 

Before he died he was heard to sav, "A brighter 
world than this. Jesus ! Jesus ! Savior!" Later 
he exclaimed, -Higher! higher! Father, mother, 
angels! Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! 
Mother! mother!''' Last of all he said, "Halle- 
lujah! Glory in the highest. Jesus is worthy!"' 

James A. Shocklet was born in South Carolina, 
in the latter part of the year 1809, of religious 
pareDts, and died September 12. 1844. At the 
asre of ten or twelve vears he was converted to 
God. and became an acceptable member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1840 he obtain- 
ed license to preach, and the following year trav- 
eled on Decatur Circuit. At the Mississippi Con- 
ference, in 1841, he was received on trial in the 



286 LAST WORDS AND 

traveling connection, and appointed to Paulding 
Circuit. 

His death was a signal triumph, a glorious ex- 
hibition of the excellence of the religion of the 
Bible. He said he was ready to go, adding, "I 
have lived for this hour! God is here! I'm in 
glory now ! This is heaven ! Tell my father and 
my presiding elder that I die at my post, at the 
feet of Jesus, in sight of glory." As he entered 
the vale of death he said, a My work is done. 
Amen. Glory to God." And amid the songs 
and shoutings of Christian friends around him 
he left this world. He left a wife and three lovely 
children to mourn their loss. 

Curtis W. Scoles was brought up in the vicin- 
ity of Cadiz, Ohio. He embraced religion in early 
life. He was admitted on trial in the traveling 
connection by the Pittsburgh Conference, at its 
session in 1812, and the following year traveled 
on Ligonier Circuit. 

His disease, though at first of a comparatively 
mild character, became more and more alarming, 
until all hope of his recovery was given up. He 
was fully aware of his condition, and talked freely 
about his approaching dissolution. While a 
brother was engaged in writing his will he re- 
quested him to be as expeditious as possible, add- 
ing, "I shall soon be walking and talking with 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 287 

God." The last words he was heard to utter were, 
"I have a home in heaven," and, "Blessed be 
God." 

William H. Stephens was born in New York, 
December 18, 1804. In his childhood he was the 
subject of religious impressions; but subsequent- 
ly he became thoughtless, and disregarded the 
subject of religion. In the year 1828, under the 
preaching of Rev. Charles Pitman, he was awak- 
ened and converted to God, and joined the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. 

About three weeks previous to his death he ob- 
served, "I know not what God intends to do with 
me; but I am perfectly resigned." When dying, 
he was asked what his prospects were for heaven. 
He replied, "As clear as the noonday, — not a cloud 
or the shadow of a doubt." On being asked if 
Satan tempted him in this hour he remarked, 
"He is not suffered to come near." When his 
physician informed him that he would soon be gone 
he thanked God, repeating his expression of grat- 
itude again and again. About an hour before he 
ceased to breathe the inquiry was again made, "Is 
your way clear?" He replied, "As clear as a sun- 
beam." Thus lived and labored and died this serv- 
ant of the Lord. Our loss we mourn, his mem- 
ory we cherish, and his Savior we adore. 



288 LAST WORDS AND 

Thomas Gr. Stewart died in Bordentown, New 
Jersey, January 24, 1848, in the fiftieth year of 
his age and eighteenth of his ministry. In his 
experience and life he was a "good man." His 
excellences of character were Christian excellences. 
In his spirit and manner he was of modest pre- 
tensions ; yet in his ministerial work he was per- 
severing, bold, and firm. His last services were 
rendered in Burlington, assisting in a special ef- 
fort for the conversion of souls. It was then that 

he was taken sick. Previous to his return home 
he said to a sister, at whose house he was, "When 

I am sick, I examine myself to see if I am pre- 
pared to go. Not that I am afraid of death ; I 
always examine myself, but more particularly at 
such times. I feel that I am ready." About ten 
days after his return to his family he fell "asleep 
in Jesus." 

Joel Steele died August 23, 1846. He was a 
a father in Israel, having been for years in the 
ministry. He was born in Tolland, Conn., Au- 
gust 14, 1782. At the age of twenty-two or 
twenty-three, while teaching school there, he was 
converted in a revival, under the labors of the 
early Metbodist preachers. He commenced his 
itineracy on Lunenburg Circuit, near Canada, in 
1806. 

His disease was a painful one; but he endured 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 289 

it patiently, under a continually brightening pros- 
pect of heaven. He said, u My faith is as clear as 
the sun. There is not the shadow of a dimming 
veil or doubt concerning myself or the religion I 
have preached and recommended to others." He 
left a wife and eleven children. 

Rev. Henry Slicer was born in Annapolis, 
Maryland, March 27, 1801, and died April 23 
1874. "He has led me all my life long. I am 
willing to preach no more, if need be. I have 
perhaps preached long enough. My ministry 
counts for nothing now. My trust is only in the 
Mediator." Thus died the grand "old veteran" — - 
a popular and useful Methodist preacher. 

Rev. John Sauter was born inTettending, Ger- 
many, May 18, 1812, and died in Poughkeepsie, 
Xew York, March 2-1, 1874. "I am not afraid to 
die. How glorious it will be to lay down this 
mortal body." He left his couch and said, "Bed, 
good-by." He then sat down in his arm-chair 
and asked that the twenty-second chapter of Rev- 
elation be read ; and on coming to the words, 
"Behold, I come quickly," he nodded to his loved 
ones and committed his soul to the Redeemer, and 
he "was not, for God took him." 

Rev. Peter P. Sanford was born in Lodi, isTew 
Jersey, February 28, 1771. He died calm, conn- 



290 LAST WORDS AND 

dent, and assured, giving his dying testimony 
thus, "I have prayed for a holy triumph, and I 
have it." 

Rev. John P. Swanger was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, February 15, 1836, and* died in Baltimore, 
June 29, 1867. "If it is God's will that I shall go 
now, I am ready. I have made my preparation 
before, and it is only a question of time when I go, 
now or in the future." 

Rev. Richard E. Schermerhorn died of con- 
sumption, April 18, 1836, aged thirty-two years, 
four months, and eighteen days. He was the son 
of John W. Schermerhorn, Esq. He was born in 
Nassau, Renssellaer County, New York'. At the 
age of nineteen he experienced religion. He was 
"one who of late complete his armor wore, and 
drew his sword with strong and vigorous hand, 
and on the walls of Zion waved it high — he left 
the conflict — fallen too at noon." 

In arranging his affairs to prepare for his disso- 
lution, he conversed about it with the greatest 
composure, just as if he had been preparing to 
go to conference. He settled up all the affairs 
that he could consistently. He also made his 
"will," and directed to have sung at his funeral 
the hymn under the 490th page, particularly he 
felt the force of — 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 291 

"My body with my charge lay down, 
Aud cease at once to work and live." 

He was asked if there was any passage of script- 
ure that appeared more than usually precious to 
him. He said, "There is one that has been much 
on my mind of late; namely, II. Timothy iv. 6, 7, 
8. 'For I am now ready to be offered, and the 
time of my departure is at hand/ etc.; 'there is 
laid up for me a crown/ etc. After repeating 
these verses he looked up with an expression of 
countenance which I never shall forget. "Oh, I 
feel abashed. What! a crown for me?" and burst 
into a Hood of tears. At another time, when the 
following was brought to view : "Our light af- 
flictions which is but for a moment, worketh 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory," he observed, "I think not of crown, 
glory, reward, or righteousness, but of my Jesus 
and heaven." He repeated many passages of 
scripture and hymns, which presented the state of 
his mind. The following are some of them: "All 
things work together for good to them that love 
God." "In my Father's house are many man- 
sions," etc. "Praised be God for his unspeakable 
gift." "Come, Savior Jesus, from above, and fill 
my soul with heavenly love." "How can it be, 
thou heavenly King, that thou shouldst us to 
glory bring?" "Why should I wish my suffer- 



292 LAST WORDS AND 

ings less, or murmur at his stay?" "The hymns 
that young converts sing are beautiful, but all is 
solemn. " To a friend who called to see him he 
said, "I thought I was going home yesterday." 
To one laboring under infirmities of body he said, 
"Brother, I shall soon meet you in heaven." 

As the period of his dissolution approached his 
piety shone brighter, his love grew warmer, his 
zeal increased, and his whole soul seemed to be 
engaged in praising God. His last words were, 
"Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

Rev. William Saunders was born in Ireland, 
August 16, 1836. He came to America in 1852, 
and died in Indiana, July 29, 1871, "I do not care 
that a stone should mark my resting-place, but if 
so, I would wish the simple inscription, "He hath 
done what he could." 

"We live in deeds, not years, thoughts, not breath ; 
In feelings, not in figures oh a dial. 
We should count time by heart-throbs, he lives most 
Who thinks most feels the noblest acts the best." 

Rev. Isaac Collins Stevens was born in Fulton 
Count} 7 , Pennsylvania, February 15, 1833, and 
died November 20, 1869. He was converted in 
his eighteenth year, and was admitted into the 
East Baltimore Conference in 1856. 

About two months before his death he had a 
most gracious experience — a rich and satisfying 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 293 

blessing. He says, "As I asked, my Savior sweet- 
ly responded. These responses tallied with each 
successive petition. What an unspeakable bless- 
ing welled up in my soul. My heart was filled 
with love divine." As he continued praying his 
blessing was greatly increased. He describes it 
thus : "At his feet I lay under an inexpressible 
holy influence. Pressed down by such an exceed- 
ing weight of love, I dared not look up. I was 
simply filled with that peace and joy which the 
heart possesses when freed from every vestige of 
doubt — resting upon the naked promises of God. 
Glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 

A few days before his death he said, "For a long 
time there has not been a cloud to dim my sky, 
and if it be the will of the good Lord I desire to 
go soon. Tell the brethren of conference that I 
have gone to Jesus, where sweet will be my rest. 
The best of all, the Lord is with me." 

"But we can not weep for one supremely blest 
Like thee, with heaven's sleep ; 
The passion and the strife of time 
Can never reach the sinless clime, 
Where the redeemed of spirits dwell ; 
Why should we weep since thou art free? 
Sainted, beloved friend, farewell." 

Rev. Thomas Smith. "I want no funeral ser- 
mon. Let my friends walk in procession to the 
grave and sing, 



294 LAST WORDS AND 

"Children of the heavenly King, 
As we journey let us sing ; 
Sing our Savior's worthy praise, 
Glorious in his works and ways " 

'We are traveling home to God, 
In the way our father's trod ; 
They are happy now, and we 
Soon their happiness shall see." 

Rev. Samuel Smith was born and converted in 
England. He arrived in America in 1833. He 
died March 11, 1858. "This is a wonderful day, 
heaven and earth have come very near together, 
Jesus is very precious. He is my Savior." 

Rev. Andrew J. Scott was born in Philadel- 
phia, and died January 2, 1871. He entered the 
ministry in 1865. He yielded cheerfully to the 
will of God. At one time he said to a friend, 
"The mariner knows when he is approaching land 
by a peculiar odor and the breeze which comes 
thence. So I am beginning to catch the land- 
breeze of heaven. I am nearing the heavenly 
shore, and shall soon be safely landed." 

Rev. Rufus Stoddard commenced his itinerant 
labors in 1832. In 1834 he was appointed to 
Homer; and at the conference of 1835 he was ad- 
mitted into full connection, ordained, and re -ap- 
pointed to the Homer station. 

The following extracts from his diary will show 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 295 

the state of his mind during some of the last 
months of his pilgrimage: "January 1, 1836. 
Another year has fled. Its joys live only in grate- 
ful recollection ; its sorrows in mournful remem- 
brance. Death has numbered among his victims 
two of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church — Wm. M'Kendree and John Emory. The 
former died in March, the latter in December. 
The church mourns, yet confides with undimin- 
ished confidence in the living God. Many events 
have occurred which should make a lasting and 
salutary impression on my mind. I live to see the 
dawn of another year; but before another year 
shall arrive I may be in my grave — my spirit be 
with God. How important that I begin anew in 
the service of Christ ! How necessary that I live 
for eternity every day, every hour, every moment ! 
O my God, graciously assist me to do more per- 
fectly thy holy will, to please thee in all my ways, 
that when my eyes shall be closed in death I may- 
be received into thy glory ! Amen." "February 
24. Since this last note on this page my^mind, 
for the most part of the time, has been cheerful 
and composed. I have had some refreshing sea- 
sons in devotion. I would here record the tender 
mercy of God in delivering me from peculiar temp- 
tations, in giving me grace to overcome when at- 
tacked by Satan." This was the last he ever wrote. 



296 LAST WORDS AND 

The manner in which he took his leave of his 
father's family, and his friends generally, was pe- 
culiarly appropriate and affecting. Never, indeed, 
can it be forgotten. The following were his last 
words: "My work is done — heaven is mine! 
Victory! victory! victory! through the blood of 
the Lamb ! Death has lost its sting. Come, Lord 
Jesus, come ! " 

Bishop Joshua Soule, D. D. LL. D., the senior 
bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
was born at Bristol, Maine, August 1, 1$74. He 
was licensed to preach in his seventeenth year, and 
was admitted on trial into the Maine Conference 
in 1799. He was a member of the General Con- 
ference in 1808, and was the author of the plan for 
a delegated General Conference. He was elected 
book-agent at New York in 1816, at which he 
commenced the Methodist Magazine, and was its 
editor. In 1820 he was elected bishop; but be- 
lieving the plan which the conference had adopt- 
ed for electing presiding elders was unconstitu- 
tional, he resigned. In 1824 he was again elected 
bishop, and after that time he devoted himself 
solely to the duties of that office. 

For many years his family resided at Leb- 
anon, Ohio. In 1842 he was a delegate to the 
British and Irish conferences. He was an able 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 297 

administrator, a popular and useful preacher, a 
man of great energy and a strong will. At the 
separation of the church in 1844 he adhered to 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South,. He re- 
moved to Kashville, Tennessee, at which place he 
died in great peace, March 6, 1867, in the eighty- 
third year of his age, having been the senior 
bishop of the church South from its organization. 

Rev. Isaac L. G. Strickland. "Can this be 
death?" and then added with a full soul, " Victo- 
rious faith ! I shall soon be in heaven." 

Rev. Amos Smith was born in Virginia, April 
30, 1795, and died in Baltimore, January 20, 1865. 
"I do not think it is the purpose of the Lord to 
call me at this time, but I may go in one of these 
attacks; and the will of the Lord be done. If I 
go in this way I wish you all to remember that I 
go with the full assurance that I shall receive the 
crown of life, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, hath prepared for me. I have long studied 
the plan of salvation. For fifty-six years it has 
been opening up and brightening to my mind. I 
see it now infinitely lovely and perfect. In it I 
see God as a Father of unbounded love; Christ as 
an all-meritorious sacrifice, redeeming a lost world. 
The Holy Spirit, sent from Christ by the Father, 
witnessed my spirit that I am the object of his 



298 LAST WORDS AND 

great love, redeemed by this great sacrifice ; that 
God is my Father, and will be my portion forever. 
My works can not save me. I have labored for 
nearly forty-seven years in the ministry. I have 
tried to do my duty. I have wronged no man. 
My object in life has been the glory of God. Un- 
der my ministry I have seen many converted. But 
all this can profit me nothing. I trust in the rich 
atonement of Christ. If I were well again I would 
like to preach from this passage, 'Who hath abol- 
ished death and brought life and immortality to 
light through the gospel.' I feel a change. I am 
going down into the valley, but I find it all as I 
never expected to see it. 1 shall go home soon. 
God and kindred spirits are with me. I am not 
alone. I shall go home to-night." And so he 
did— January 20, 1868. 

Seymour B. Sawyer was born in North Carolina, 
December 8, 1808. His parents removed to In- 
diana, where he was converted to God, October 1, 
1821, under the ministry of the Cumberland Pres- 
byterians, to which body of Christians he attach- 
ed himself. In August, 1827, he was licensed to 
preach. His wife died in Nashville, Tennessee. 
He immediately started for Alabama, and on his 
journey buried his son. On reaching Wetumpka 
he was attacked with pneumonia, which resulted 
in his death, after a most patient suffering of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 299 

eleven months. Early on the morning of his last 
day he called to his bedside the kind friend at 
whose house he suffered, and said to him, "This 
will be my last day." The doctor came into the 
room and said, "How are you, Brother Sawyer?" 
"Sit down, sir," said he, "and see." The follow- 
ing conversation then took place : "Doctor, do 
you not think I am dying?" "No, sir; but you 
may be dying very soon." "Well, sir, you may 
not think I am dying ; but I shall be in heaven 
to-day." On that day,— September 23, 1844,— 
about half past twelve o'clock, he departed to be 
with Christ. 

John Smith was born in Kent County, Mary- 
land, March 10, 1758. On the 9th of June, 1780, 
he was converted to God, and in 1784 was received 
on trial in the traveling connection. His last ill- 
ness was long and trying; but during the whole 
of it he was a pattern of patience and resignation. 
His language was, "Come, Lord Jesus, come 
quickly ; take my enraptured soul away. I am 
not afraid to die ; I long to be dissolved, and see 
the face of God without a dimming veil between. 
Death has lost its sting." Thus died our beloved 
brother, John Smith, on the 10th of May, 1812, 
in the fifty-fifth, year of his age, at Chestertown, 
in his native county. To depart and be with 
Christ is far better. 



330 LAST WORDS AND 

William Simmons was boru in Mason County, 
Kentucky, June 24, 1798. When he was about 
one year old his parents removed to Ohio, and 
settled in Clermont County, where some of the 
family still reside. He was converted in 1816, 
under the ministry of Rev. John Strange. After 
his conversion he was strongly impressed that it 
was his duty to enter the Christiau ministry; but 
against this conviction he struggled for four years, 
passing, meantime, to use his own strong words, 
through an "indescribable mental conflict." He 
finally yielded, however, to what he regarded as 
a divine call to the office and work of an embas- 
sador of Christ; and on the 17th of July, 1820, 
he was licensed to preach, and was recommended 
to the Ohio Conference. 

In his semi-centennial sermon, in 1870, he said, 
"I have traveled more than one hundred thousand 
miles, preached more than five thousand times, 
and seen more than ten thousand conversions and 
accessions to the church." His salary during this 
long period of heroic toil and glorious success 
averaged four hundred dollars per year. But of 
this support, or rather lack of support, he never 
complained. His own words are, "Somehow, by 
rigid economy, I have kept square with the world, 
and have now no fear of want in my old age; for 
I have God's promise that my bread and water 
shall be sure." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 301 

Shortly before he died he said, in reply to a 
question, "I am calm, peaceful, trusting in Jesus, 
on the Rock." I referred to his long, laborious, 
and useful life in the ministry. He said, "I feel 
that I have been an honest preacher of the gos- 
pel. I never felt that I was a great preacher; but 
I know that I have tried to do good." 

I then spoke of the near approach of our con- 
ference session. "Yes," said he, "I had hoped to 
be able to get there, especially as one of my boys 
is to preside." I asked him if he had any mes- 
sage for his brethren, in case he could not be with 
them in person. He said, "Tell them I have tried 
to be an honest, faithful minister, and that my 
one work through life has been to save souls. I 
love them all, and hope they will be faithful 
and meet me in heaven." Soon afterward he 
added, "Tell them 'I am now ready to be offered, 
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness,' which the Lord, 
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: 
and not to me only, but unto all them also that 
love his appearing.' " He paused a moment, but 
quickly added, 

" Happy, if with my latest breath, 
I may but gasp his name ; 



302 LAST WORDS AND 

Preach him to all, and cry in death, 
Behold, behold the Lamb." 

In this frame of mind, and with such expres- 
sions as these, he breathed his life out on Thurs- 
day morning, August 7, 1874, at two o'clock. 

Gideon J. Shirtliff was born in Yerona, Oneida 
County, New York, July 9, 1812. In his seven- 
teenth year he embraced religion and joined the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. After having exer- 
cised his gifts as a local preacher about four years 
he was received on trial by the Michigan Confer- 
ence, in 1840. His ordination followed in regu- 
lar course of time. He had traveled about eight 
years and a half when, struck down by disease 
contracted in his itinerant labors, he "ceased at 
once to work and live." 

Brother Shirtliff was a good man, and a zeal- 
ous preacher. His labors were often followed by 
extensive revivals of religion. Daring his last 
sickness he contemplated death without the least 
alarm. In the intervals of delirium, he expressed 
strong confidence in God. His last words were, 
"Oh, that transcendant glory ! God in Christ ! " 

"Oh, that sweet repose, 
Which none but he that feels it knows." 

Thus passed away this faithful minister in the 
prime of days ; but it was only to another and 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 303 

a higher life. He died February 28, 1849, aged 
twenty-seven years. 

Rev. Elijah Steele was born of respectable 
parents, in Tennessee. At the age of six years 
he was removed to Mississippi. At the age of 
sixteen he was converted ; and about two years 
after his conversion he believed himself moved by 
the Holy Ghost to preach the gospel. With much 
fear and trembling, after long hesitancy, he gave 
himself up to the work of the ministry. In 1835 
he was received on trial in the Mississippi Confer- 
ence; and after filling various appointments he 
finished his brief career at New Orleans. On the 
6th of September, 1841, while attending a prayer- 
meeting, he was attacked by the yellow-fever, 
then prevailing as an epidemic in the city. He 
was carried to the house of his friend, James 
Ross, Esq., where, on the 10th of September, he 
rendered up his spirit into hands of God, who 
gave it. Among his last words were, "Tell my 
friends if I die I shall go straight to heaven." 
"How beautiful ! how glorious ! " The last soft 
wiiisper was, "I am safe." 

Rev. John Seys, D. I)., was born March 30, 
1799, on the island of Santa Croix, West Indies, 
of a family that had been for many years resident 
ot the islands, and that occupied many positions 



304 LAST WORDS AND 

of honor and trust under the Danish and Dutch 
governments. Subsequent to his marriage, and 
in the same year (1821), he became a member of 
the Wesleyan Methodist Church, on the island of 
St. Eustatius, a church which at that time was 
deemed by the dominant race as "only belong- 
ing to and doing mission-work among the 
negroes." 

Soon, notwithstanding all the opposition of 
friends and the obstacles in his way, he became a 
Sabbath-school superintendent, class-leader, li- 
censed exhorter, and, in 1825, a local preacher. 
In 1829 he was ordained and called upon to take 
the place of an English missionary who had died 
on the island of Tortola, being the first white 
West Indian who became a preacher in the Meth- 
odist Church. 

Circumstances, in this year, directed his atten- 
tion to this country; and, with full testimonials 
and credentials from the chairman of the district, 
the governor of the islands, and many other gen- 
tlemen, he came to the United States in 1829. 
Soon after his arrival he joined the Oneida Con- 
ference and was appointed to Ogdensburg Station, 
New York. 

In 1856 he came to Springfield, Ohio, having 
been appointed agent for the Colonization Society 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 305 

in the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In 
the same year he was requested again to go to 
Africa, to select and locate a settlement back from 
the coast, and away from the malarious influences 
of the tidal rivers. This work he accomplished, 
after much dangerous toil and privation, founding 
Careysburg, erecting there as the first building a 
chapel, and calling every day some of the in- 
habitants, colonists, and natives to prayer. From 
this time until 1870 he was almost uninterruptedly 
connected with the country and work in which he 
had spent so many years of his remarkably active 
life in one capacity or another. 

At the time of his death, February 9, 1872, he 
was a member of the Cincinnati Conference, hav- 
ing been transferred to the same in accordance 
with the request of the conference, expressed at 
its session by a rising vote. 

He died at home. This was a remarkable and 
wonderfully kind providence, in view of the perils 
to which he had been exposed by sea and by land 
for half a century — having crossed the ocean 
twenty times. But God, who "withholdeth no 
good thing from them that walk uprightly," per- 
mitted him, after so many transatlantic trips, and 
after having lived so long in places where "de- 
struction walketh in darkness and pestilence wast- 
eth at noonday," to return home, that he might 

20 



306 LAST WORDS AND 

fall asleep in Jesus in the midst of family and 
friends, and find a resting-place for his ashes in a 
Christian grave-yard. This was not only a gra- 
cious favor to the sojourner himself, but a great 
blessing to the social and religious circles among 
whom he spent his superannuation and his last days. 
He gave to us the golden sunset of his heroic ca- 
reer. It was the largess of a good example, a holy 
experience, and a triumphant death. 

As distinctive traits the following will be recog- 
nized by all who knew our lamented brother as a 
true though faint picture of him. He was a man 
of exquisite neatness and grace of person and 
manner. To him politeness was natural, and 
courtesy and spontaneity. He was gifted with 
handsome talents and a ready and agreeable ut- 
terance, while his soul was charged with impas- 
sioned feeling and sympathy. To this was added 
education, culture, and general intelligence. These 
qualities and endowments of mind and heart made 
him a very successful minister of Christ. 

As a Christian, Dr. Seys was deeply spiritual. 
He loved the subject and enjoyed the experience 
of personal holiness. Having a loving nature, 
full of tender sensibilities, his enjoyments were 
highly emotional, and yet deep, uniform, and con- 
stant; For several months before his death he 
was a great sufferer ; but he was enabled by grace 





r.SWQRMSTEDT. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 307 

divine to bear his Bufferings patiently, and to re- 
joice in the midst of the keenest '"with joy un- 
speakable and full of glory." It was my privilege 
to be with him often during these months of suf- 
fering, and listen to his words of cheer and holy 
triumph. About an hour before the angels came 
for his spirit, full of glorious expectancy. I said to 
him, i; ^Vhat is now the outlook?"' He replied, 
with all the emphasis he could command, '-Bright, 
glorious!*' The last intelligent expression of his 
life was, -Though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art 
with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 
The venerable Bishop Morris said at the funeral 
service. "I never saw a more perfect triumph over 
the terrors oi death than was exhibited by Dr. 
Seys a few days since." Dr. A. Lowrey said on 
same occasion, "His death-scene was a vic- 
torious transition into heaven." -Thanks be to 
God. which giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ.-'-' 

Eev. Leroy Swormstedt died at Mt. Washing- 
ton. Ohio, in 1563. This useful and efficient serv- 
ant of the church had not the power in his last 
hours which has been given so wonderfully and 
often miraculously to many of the children of the 
Most High in the hour and article of death, or of ex- 
pressing in words how that gospel which he had 



308 LAST WORDS AND 

so faithfully and truthfully preached to hundreds 
of others was sustaining him through the valley 
and shadow of death, and making happy those 
who so lovingly and tenderly stood around his dy- 
ing-couch with shouts of triumph and joyful fare- 
well as he <; swept through the gates." But though 
that most insidious and relentless of diseases — 
softening of the brain — had fastened its hold up- 
on him, and the man once strong and vigorous 
was in ruins, yet down to the last, whenever 
gleams of intelligence broke in upon his clouded 
intellect and the powers of speech seemed partial- 
ly restored, some old familiar text or some pre- 
cious promise of the Savior would find utterance 
from his lips, clearly showing that the faith of 
the gospel he had preached to others did riot fail 
him in his extremity, and that the blessed Savior 
did not forsake him in his long and dreary jour- 
ney. 

Although as yet little has been written and said 
regarding Leroy Swormstedt as of any man of his 
time whose position in the church was as con- 
spicuous, yet in his day and the strength of his 
his manhood he was a marked man, whose influ- 
ence was felt everywhere he went, and where he 
labored, and that for good. In his sphere he was 
the peer of such men as Sale, Strange, Collins, 
Quinn, Bigelow, Christie, Elliott, Walker, Fiuley, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 309 

Mitchell, Wright, and his bosom friend, Bishop 
H aniline. 

When in the pastoral work, though a man se- 
vere and rigid in discipline, the charges under his 
care would increase and materially strengthen. 
As a presiding elder he filled the office well. He 
was my first presiding elder, and gave me license to 
preach. But it was as agent of the Western Meth- 
odist Book Concern for twenty-four years — a pe- 
riod, with one exception, longer than any man 
has filled that office, east or west, so far in the 
history of the church — that his eminent qualifica- 
tions shone forth, and he so effectually benefited 
the church. While we would not claim that the 
entire success and prominence which the Western 
Methodist Book Concern has attained is due to 
his labor and skillful management, yet we think 
it can be truthfully said in the language used by 
the late Bishop Clark, in his address at the funeral 
services of Leroy Swormstedt, that "his life and 
history were blended with this institution ; and so 
long as the Western Methodist Book Concern 
shall continue to send out its pure and sanctified 
literature to bless the church and to save the 
world, so long will the name of Leroy Swormstedt 
be honored as one of the wise master-builders who 
laid the foundation of this noble benevolence, and 
gave to the church these munitions of defense as 
well as of aggressive power." 



310 LAST WORDS AND 

Iii May, 1817, he removed from Baltimore to Cin- 
cinnati, where he obtained a situation as merchant's 
clerk. On the 14th of August he was licensed to 
exhort; and on the 2d of January, 1818, he was 
licensed as a local preacher. In March of this 
year he was employed on a circuit, and thus com- 
menced his itinerant work. It is not too much to 
say he never looked back; but on and on he press- 
ed, — a man of one work, one purpose, — to serve 
God and build up the church of Jesus Christ. 

At the session of the Ohio Conference which 
commenced in Steubenville, August 7, 1818, he 
was admitted on trial as a traveling preacher. 
The Ohio Conference at that time included all the 
State of Ohio, and portions of Kentucky, western 
Virginia, and Indiana. Brother Swormstedt was 
ordained deacon by Bishop Roberts, in 1820, and 
elder by Bishop George, in 1822. 

The most of the circuits were spread over a 
large extent of territory, the roads were often 
difficult to travel, and the streams and rivers were 
crossed only by fording and swimming. His rides 
were often very long ; and scarcely a day passed 
in which he did not preach at least one sermon 
and lead a class. In those days he shared largely 
of the blessing of health, and possessed strength 
equal to his great labor. 

As a preacher he was energetic, methodical, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 311 

and often powerful. His punctuality was pro- 
verbial. The people in the remotest sections of his 
circuit knew just when to expect him, and at what 
time the services would commence. He would go 
through storm, mud, snow, and flood, never miss- 
iug a single appointment if it was possible to 
reach it. Scrupulously punctual himself, he could 
not excuse the lack of punctuality in others ; and 
the people of his charge soon came to realize that 
under his administration rigid exactness was ex- 
pected in all thing's. 



Kev. Edward Turner, a native of England, died 
November 30, 1878. When his voice failed he 
took his last stand in the parsonage, seeming to 
have hung the banner of Christ from its roof, and 
kept the doors open to comers, that he might 
teach his people how to die. "I expected," said 
he, "that Christ would be my support when death 
approached. Well, I had no idea that he would 
so fill my soul with love and joy." 

Rev. Christopher Thomas was born October 31, 
1797. in Matthews County, Virginia, and died 
November 14, 1829, at Joseph Bell's, in the town 
of Newbern, North Carolina. Though a moral 
youth, he saw the necessity of religion, and sought 



312 LAST WORDS AND 

and obtained it in 1816. He joined the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

In 1823 he was admitted on trial in the Vir- 
ginia Conference, and was appointed to the Sus- 
sex Circuit, in 1824 to the same circuit, in 1825 
to Yadkin, in 1826 to Salisbury, in 1827 to Ire- 
dell, in 1828 to Williamsburg, and in 1829 to the 
town of Newbern, N". C, all of which appoint- 
ments he filled. 

While on Williamsburg Circuit he was accosted 
by a mob, who said to him, "We intend to whip 
you, sir," to which he replied, with the utmost 
composure, "If you do, I hope God will give me 
grace to bear it." They executed their design, 
but he bore it with patience, and while on his 
death-bed he prayed for them particularly. 

He delivered his last discourse on Revelation 
xii. 1, to a large congregation, about iiYe weeks 
before his dissolution, in the conclusion of which 
he observed that he should never preach to them 
again, and accordingly gave them his dying ad- 
vice. Being asked toward the close of his life if 
he was happy, he paused a moment, his face 
flighted up with joy and peace, he lifted up his 
hand and said, "Perfectly happy. Death is my 
friend. I live in Christ, and Christ is all to me." 
Just before his death he laid his hands upon his 
breast, looked around upon his friends, and said, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 313 

"Farewell, farewell ; I have all I desire," and died 
shouting, "Glory, hallelujah! Let me die the 
death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
his!" 

Rev. Nathan Thompson died in Dexter, March 
6, 1846, aged fifty-five years. He gave his heart 
to the Savior at the age of eighteen years. In 
1838 he sought and found the blessing of perfect 
love, which he retained to his death. In doing 
this he found it necessary to consecrate himself to 
the work of the ministry. To this he yielded, and 
the next year he offered himself to the traveling 
connection, and joined the Maine Conference. 
On all his circuits he was more or less successful 
in building up the cause of Christ and saving 
souls. During his ministerial labor he preached 
nine hundred and seventeen sermons. To a 
brother in the ministry he said, "I die. Think not 
that I am dragged away ; I go willingly. For 
me to die is gain." When his speech failed him 
he wrote, "I am happy in God." Thus closed his 
labors and trials, in the midst of peace and gospel 
hope. "Mark the perfect man, for the end of that 
man is peace." 

Rev. G. C. Townley, late a member of the Cin- 
cinnati Conference, was born in the town of Lan- 
sing, Tompkins County, UTew York, March 20, 



314 LAST WORDS AND 

1821, and was reared to manhood in the adjoining 
town of Ithica. In 1842 he came to Springfield, 
Ohio, and commenced the study of the law. On 
the 1st of January, 1844, he was united in mar- 
riage to his bereaved widow, then Miss Eliz- 
abeth Hedges, of Clark County, Ohio. Soon aft- 
erward they removed to Urban a, where he united 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was 
happily converted to God under the ministry of 
the Rev. Cyrus Brooks. 

In 1848 he was admitted on trial and appointed 
to Highland Circuit. Here he entered with all his 
soul into the work of God, and by his zeal, pru- 
dence, and power in the pulpit, as well as by his 
fine social qualities, won a place in the affections 
of hundreds, who cherish his memory to this day. 

During the last three years of his ministry he 
passed through a series of afflictions, that would 
have broken down the spirit of most men, and led 
them to abandon the work of an itinerant Meth- 
odist preacher. But his heart and his all were 
there. Perhaps no man ever loved the work of the 
ministry more than Gilbert C. Townley. When 
compelled, by the extremities of affliction, to give 
up the loved work of preaching Christ and him 
crucified, there seemed nothing more, save his fam- 
ily, to retain him on earth. 

As a Christian, Brother Townley had a bright 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 315 

and cheerful experience. In the darkest hour his 
confidence in God his Savior remained unshaken. 
For months previous to his departure he had no 
fear of death, but spoke of its near approach with 
a calmness and serenity peculiar to those who 
have an inward assurance of immortality and 
eternal life. 

A few days before his death he gave directions 
concerning his funeral. He requested Rev. M. 
Marl ay to preach his funeral sermon, and wished 
to be buried in a plain and simple manner. Hav- 
ing arranged all, he waited in hope till his change 
came. 

Rev. Robert Tarlton was born in Dublin, Ire- 
land, October 28, 1836, and died August, 1873, in 
Paterson, New Jersey. "In regard to present 
peace not a ruffle, or in regard to the future not a 
doubt." He said the twenty-seventh psalm was 
the Christian's battle-song. There is heroism all 
through it. If death affected us, as it does a 
change only in our external circumstances and 
surroundings, there would not be so much involv- 
ed in dying. But he added there is a clatter 
within, — a breaking inside, — which causes the old 
tabernacle to tumble. But, oh, what a blessed 
power in the words of the apostle, "For we know 
that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not 



316 LAST WORDS AND 

made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Death 
hath already taken the out-posts, "but all is beau- 
tiful and bright beyond. All is well." 

Kev. David B. Turner was born December 2, 
1806, in Connecticut. In 1870 his health failed. 
As he was nearing the world of spirits he had 
very humiliating views of himself, and said, "I 
have often wondered that God could use such an 
imperfect instrument, putting me into the minis- 
try." One said to him, "God's strength is made 
perfect in weakness." "Yes," he replied, "our 
sufficiency is of God. If I had only been as faith- 
fully personally as I have been true to the church, 
I should feel better satisfied." His son said to 
him, "Father, it is hard to see you suffer so." 
"Oh, yes ; made perfect through sufferings; made 
perfect through sufferings. Daughter, it is all for 
my good. Ail things work together for good to 
them that love God." At last he obtained com- 
plete victory and exclaimed, "There is no dark- 
ness. All is light ahead. I have observed that 
people go to visit the graves of their friends, when 
all is gloomy. 1 think the morning is the best 
time, when all is cheerful, and the birds are sing- 
ing." He then triumphantly exclaimed, "There 
is something glorious in the doctrine of the resur- 
rection," and by the will of God fell asleep. 



OLD TIME MEMORIES. 317 

Rev. Edward Troy was born in Hamilton Co., 
Ohio, August 15, 1819. In January, 1836, he 
was born again, in Perry, Pike County, Illinois. 
In April, 1838, he was licensed to exhort by Rev. 
M. Clampet. In 1838 he was licensed to preach 
on the Jacksonville Circuit. 

About three years before his death, going, to an 
appointment in the Hadley Creek Circuit, a short 
distance from his father-in-law's, his horse took 
fright, threw him off, and fell on him, breaking 
his thigh, and left him helpless some distance from 
a public road or human habitation. Here he en- 
dured for seven hours the pain of a broken limb, 
and the burning heat of a July sun, and the temp- 
tation that he had served God for naught, and 
that he should die unpitied and alone. He took 
his Bible, and on its blank leaves w T rote his will; 
and then, as his pain would permit, perused its 
sacred pages, and felt strengthened in God. He 
prayed earnestly that his mother-in-law might, in 
the providence of God, follow him. She said that 
suddenly at home she became uneasy and quit her 
work ; and still finding no relief, she left, with 
some of the smaller children, to gather blackber- 
ries, not knowing which way Brother Troy had 
gone in the morning. She took a blind path, 
very seldom traveled, and after wandering for 
some time heard his groanings, and hastening to 



318 LAST WORDS AND 

the spot, found him in a piteous condition. He 
was confined to his bed forty days, with resigna- 
tion of spirit. A few days before his last illness, 
while standing with a friend on a very high bluff 
of the Mississippi River, he said, "I feel like 
preaching till the last sinner on the last tributary 
of that stream is converted to God." 

Rev. Thomas D. Turpin was born in Somerset 
County, Maryland, June 30, 1805. He was bless- 
ed in his youth with the watchful care of a pious 
mother, who was a communicant in the Episcopal 
Church. He professed conversion in the city of 
Baltimore, September 8, 1823, and received the 
witness of sanctifying grace in Augusta, Georgia, 
February 18,1827. 

He was taken sick on the way to one of his 
regular appointments, which he reached, but was 
not able to deliver to them his last message. The 
next day he returned to his family, who were at 
the Diamond Springs, in Abbeville District. His 
disease was conjestive fever, with which he suf- 
fered nine days. 

On the morning of the day of his death his 
symptoms suddenly become worse, as was evident 
to everyone present, except himself; but he did 
not experience an increase of pain. His physician 
was sent for, who immediately perceived that his 
departure was at hand. He communicated the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 319 

heart-rending intelligence to his afflicted wife, and 
she, as soon as she could, — for it was a severe trial 
to her, — made it known to her husband, who re- 
ceived it with a smile, and thanked her for telling 
him. Just then his physician came in, and turn- 
ing to him he said, "I suppose you think my case 
a hopeless one? Be not afraid to tell me the 
worst, for the idea of death does not alarm me. I 
have made it a subject of consideration ever since 
I was a boy, and have been living in reference to 
it." He seemed to lament that his life had not 
been more useful, but his whole trust was in the 
merits of a crucified Redeemer. He then looked 
around on all that stood near him, and exhorted 
them to seek the religion of Jesus Christ. To his 
physician he said, "What a blessed religion is this 
that supports me in such an hour!" He then 
called his little four-year-old son, took him in his 
arms and told him his father was dying, and asked 
him if he would be a good boy, and mind all his 
mother would tell him. Then putting his hand 
on his head he prayed fervently that God would 
preserve him from the evils of this sinful gener- 
ation, and make him an heir of eternal glory. 
He then called for his little two-year-old daugh- 
ter, and in the same manner prayed for her. He 
embraced them both and bid them farewell. He 
then turned to his wife, and after expressing his 



320 LAST WOKDS AND 

kind regard for her, commended her in the most 
solemn manner to an all- wise God, who had prom- 
ised to be the orphan's friend and the widow's 
God. He also prayed that she might have grace 
to train her children aright. He then took an af- 
fectionate leave of her, and left a kind message for 
his absent friends. And finally he prayed for all 
present, and the ministry of all denominations, 
that all might be preserved from sectarian feelings # 
He also prayed for all the churches, and the whole 
world; and last of all, his kindred in the flesh. 
Then folding his hands on his breast, he commend- 
ed his spirit to God who gave it. Thus he died, 
July 26, 1838, in the thirty-fourth year of his age 
and the tenth of his ministry. 

Rev. John Wesley Todd was born in Illinois, 
November 11, 1831, and died in Iowa, June 21, 
1879. "Doctor, if you think my sickness fatal, 
tell me so. I have been preparing for this twenty- 
three years. I am not afraid to die. Now, thanks 
be unto God who giveth us the victory through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Bishop Edward Thomson, D. D., LL. D., was 
born at Portsea, England, October 12, 1810. In 
1818 the family removed to America. He studied 
medicine, and graduated when only nineteen, and 
commenced practicing in Jeromeville and Woostor. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 321 

He was converted in 1834, and commenced his 
itinerant career in 1832. He was president of 
Norwalk Seminary in 1838 ; editor of Ladies' Re- 
pository in 1846; editor of Christian Advocate and 
Journal in 1860; was elected bishop in 1864. He 
traveled extensively, and visited India on his first 
episcopal tour. A few weeks previous to his death 
the bishop had presided at three annual conferences 
in three consecutive weeks — the Lexington, the 
Kentucky, and the West Virginia. After the 
adjournment of the last he took the steamboat at 
Charleston in company with many brethren, and 
came to Wheeling with the intention of spending 
the Sabbath there, and then proceeding to Jersey 
City, where he was to open the session of the 
Newark Conference. On board the boat he seem- 
ed to be in his usual health until after tea on 
Wednesday evening; and the symptoms which 
then appeared caused no alarm. He obtained some 
rest during the night, and arrived at Wheeling 
the next morning. On his arrival he put up at 
the Grant Hotel, where he received all possible 
attention and aid; but his disease, pneumonia, 
made rapid progress, and it was soon evident that 
his life was in peril. His wife, in Evanston, was 
telegraphed, and immediately started for Wheel- 
ing, taking Delaware, Ohio, en route, doubtless 
with a view of leaving "baby Paul" with her 

21 



322 LAST WORDS AND 

mother while she hastened to her husband's side. 
Here the news reached her that the bishop no 
longer needed a nurse, but had escaped beyond all 
suffering and sin. She therefore remained in Del- 
aware, awaiting in grief that which experience 
alone can comprehend, the arrival of her husband's 
remains. 

The bishop was conscious to the very last; and 
his soul, so suddenly summoned before its Judge, 
was calmly stayed on Christ. Oh, how he longed 
to see his loved ones, and how he desired to finish 
his work, now seemingly cut short in its midst. 
But it was soon evident to him that all was to be 
denied him by his heavenly Father, and he cried 
out, "God's will be done." These were his last 
words. He died March 22, 1870. 

A character so lovely as that of Bishop Thom- 
son furnishes an abundance of incident which, 
now that he is gone, has a touching interest. 
When he set out to meet the Lexington Confer- 
ence at Louisville, Ky., it was without expecta- 
tion of returning to Evanston until he had finish- 
ed this tour of conferences. But he did return. 
A citizen of Evanston meeting him on the street 
expressed surprise, and inquired the reason of his 
return. "Oh," said he, "I didn't feel that I had 
bid good-by to my family just as I wanted to, and 
so came back." It proved to be his last "good- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 323 

by" to them; and that return for a new farewell, 

for just such a good-by as he wanted, seems strange 
enough, since it proved his last. It is paralleled 
by the case of the lamented Munroe, who, after 
he had started on his last journey, as it proved, 
and had gone out of the door-yard, came back for 
one more kiss. It was given, to be no more re- 
peated. The bishop's was a very loving soul, ex- 
ceedingly gentle in its exceeding greatness. His 
style was clear, classical, and beautiful; and he 
attained a high position in the church as an ed- 
itor, educator, and bishop. 

The late Horace Mann said that Bishop Thom- 
son "was a man of fine culture, and the best elo- 
cutionist west of the mountains. " 

Rev. Henry Tucker died at his residence, in 
Perry County, Missouri, November 3, 1835, in the 
sixty-sixth year of his age. He emigrated from 
Georgia, and settled in this part of the country 
when it was a Spanish province, known by the 
name of Upper Louisiana, where, at that time, 
there was no gospel and but little law. He un- 
happily soon partook of the prevailing vices of 
the day, — gambling, drinking, etc. But when, 
after the change of government, the itinerant 
Methodist preachers found their way into this 
western country, bearing the gospel of the grace 
of God, Henry Tucker's house became their home ; 



324 LAST WORDS AND 

and soon that gospel which is the power of God 
unto salvation to every one that believeth found 
way to his heart. He saw himself a sinner, and 
resolved by the grace of God to become a Chris- 
tian. This was in 1808 — the first Methodist preach- 
ers having crossed the Mississippi in 1806. In 
1810, when Rev. David Young traveled the cir- 
cuit (then called Merimack), he cast in his lot with 
the then few and persecuted Methodists of the 
"far West;" and in 1811, under the ministration 
of Rev. John M'Farland, the Lord powerfully 
converted his soul, when amid wondering friends 
and neighbors he rejoiced and praised God aloud, 
telling all around, without shame or fear, what the 
Lord had done for his soul. He soon manifested 
great concern for the salvation of others, and was 
licensed as a local preacher, in which sphere he 
labored indefatigably, when health permitted, till 
death. He was ordained deacon in 1815, by the 
beloved M'Kendree. 

His last illness was short. On Sabbath morn- 
ing he requested an early breakfast, that he might 
be able to reach his appointment ; but before it 
could be prepared he took very ill. His head be- 
ing the principal seat of the pain, he was soon be- 
reft of his senses. The struggle continued till 
Tuesday night, when death having done its office 
his spirit took its flight, and now, we doubt not, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 325 

with other western pioneers gone before, shares 
in glorious rest. 

Rev. Joseph S. Tomlinson was born in George- 
town, Kentucky, March 15, 1802. His parents 
dying while he was a child, he was apprenticed 
to the saddlery business, in which he soon became 
a proficient. He entered Transylvania Universi- 
ty an orphan, dependent principally upon his 
trade, to which he laboriously devoted his spare 
hours. Anxious to complete his course as soon as 
possible, he applied himself with indefatigable 
diligence, and in due time graduated with honor. 
In early youth he was converted to God and join- 
ed the Methodist Episcopal Church; and some 
time before he graduated he was licensed to preach. 
From his first efforts as a public speaker he was 
hailed as a youth of extraordinary promise to the 
church. 

At the time of his graduation at Lexington the 
friends of our infant college at Augusta were in 
want of a competent professor; and Mr. Tomlin- 
son, young as he was, was selected for the place, 
and accepted the important trust. He immediate- 
ly hastened to the field of his future labors, where 
for nearly thirty years, with the exception of a 
few brief intervals on account of declining health, 
he faithfully toiled at his post. 

In 1825 he was admitted into the traveling con- 



326 LAST WORDS AND 

nection, and regularly graduated to the offices of 
deacon and elder. At a comparatively early pe- 
riod he bad conferred upon him the degree of D. 
D. For a number of years he was president of 
Augusta College, in which position he remained 
until the college was broken down by the with- 
drawal of the patronage of the Kentucky Con- 
ference, and the repeal of its charter by the legis- 
lature of that state. Subsequently he was elected 
to a professorship in the Ohio Wesleyan Univer- 
sity, at Delaware, but did not accept, though he 
acted for two years as agent of that institution. 
He was next elected to a professorship in the Ohio 
University at Athens. With much persuasion 
he accepted this appointment, and served one 
year, at the expiration of which he was elected 
president of that institution. This appointment 
he declined because of ill-health and almost en- 
tire mental prostration, produced by what he 
deemed the greatest calamity of his life — the sud- 
den and melancholy death of a favorite son by 
cholera. 

Although for a number of the last months of 
his life he had momentary lucid intervals of ap- 
parent sunshine, yet the darkening clouds grad- 
ually condensed around and above him, until, as 
he repeatedly declared to the writer, his agony 
became insupportable, and he incapable of resist- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 327 

ance or self-control. And yet, when drawn out, 
the charms of his conversation, the perspicuity 
and power of his sermons, and the unction of his 
prayers partially concealed the deep and hidden 
tendency to mental alienation. 

He was endowed by nature with a rich and vig- 
orous intellect, which was thoroughly cultivated. 
As a teacher and governor he was skillful, pru- 
dent, and faithful. As a preacher he was consid- 
ered a model — argumentative, persuasive, pathetic. 
He was pronounced by a competent judge, though 
no personal friend, "the ablest debater in Amer- 
ica." As a Christian he was exemplary and uni- 
form in the discharge of religious duty ; and while 
he was almost constantly reproaching himself, he 
never spoke unkindly of a fellow-being. His 
death occurred June 4, 1853. 



XJ 



Rev. Joseph Uncles was born in Maryland, 
February 11, 1812, and died in Meadville, Penn- 
sylvania, November 12, 1858. 

He graduated with honor at Alleghany College, 
in 1838. He joined the Erie Conference in 1843, 
and continued in the work for eleven years. He 
was a man of deep religious experience, and very 
useful. His end was peace. 



328 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Peter Vannest was the last of seven ven- 
erable fathers, and graced the organization of the 
New Jersey Conference many years ago. Yes, 
Ware and Morrell and Campbell and Fidler and 
Bartine and Moore and Vannest are all gone, 
leaving not one who entered the itineracy dur- 
ing the last century. 

He was born in Bethlehem Township, Hunting- 
don County, New Jersey, August 5, 1759. On 
Tuesday he was attacked with paralysis, which 
totally disabled one side, and so affected the power 
of speech that for two or three days it was with 
difficulty he could be understood. His speech 
gradually returned, so that by Friday he could 
communicate with any of the numerous visitors 
who came to behold the saint of- near a century 
triumphing over the powers of death, hell, and the 
grave. From this time until the next Thursday, 
which finished his stay on earth, the interest taken 
in the last moments of this aged servant of God 
was evinced by one incessant stream of visitors. 
It was on the Friday immediately succeeding his 
attack that his tongue seemed fairly loosed to ut- 
ter the praises of God. On approaching his bed 
and inquiring after his state and prospects, he 
would say, "Oh, glory ! glory! glory! Hallelujah 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 329 

to the Lamb forever and ever!" On Sunday he 
was very happy, and had many visitors. Among 
these were several young men, whom he exhorted 
most earnestly to be faithful in the service of God. 
To two sisters who called to see him on that day, 
he said, looking up with a most heavenly smile 
upon his face, "See me die happy ! See me die 
happy! See me die happy? Happy! happy! 
happy ! " Thus he continued in the use of such 
expressions and exclamations, sometimes convers- 
ing, sometimes exhorting, and at other times 
sh on tine: and sineing. The verse of one of our 
hymns, beginning, "I'll praise my Maker while 
I've breath," furnished for him a most favorite 
theme. This he repeated and sung at intervals to 
the last, raising his arm at the close, pointing up- 
ward and adding, "Forever and forever ; forever 
and forever, ever, ever ever!" The verse of one 
of our hymns, ending — 

"To patient faith the prize is sure, 
And all that to the end endure 
The cross, shall wear the crown," 

he sung every day, sometimes two and three 
times, unto the last, and with a countenance so 
lighted up that one might have thought the crown 
itself glittered in his eye. 

Thus died Father Vannest, of the New Jersey 
Conference, "being old and full of days," leaving 



330 LAST WORDS AND 

as a legacy to his junior brethren the indubitable 
evidence that he had "fought a good fight, fin- 
ished his course, kept the faith," and obtained the 
crown. 

Rev. John VanSchoick was born in New Jer- 
sey, in 1799. He was converted when eight years 
old, in 1807. After preaching for many years he 
went home to rest. A short time before his death, 
while looking out of the window and seeing the 
snow fall, he said, "I shall never see the face of the 
earth again, but shall leave it covered with an em- 
blem of the purity of that felicity which my soul 
is going to enjoy." In his last moments he com- 
plained of violent pain, particularly at his heart, 
and added, "Though my flesh and heart fail, yet 
God is the strength of my soul, and my portion 
forever." His companion asked him if death ap- 
peared terrible, when he replied with a smile, 
"Oh, no." In the midst of bodily distress he 
called on those with him to continue in prayer, 
and in his last struggles said, "Keep in prayer," 
exclaiming, "Come, Lord, roll on the victory; roll 
on the victory, holy Lord ! " After this one of his 
friends repeated — 

"When shall I be delivered from this vain world of sin, 
And with my blessed Jesus drink endless pleasures in?" 

He answered, "Oh, hasten the moment, my Lord! 
When will these cords be loosed, that my soul 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 331 

may take its flight?" Then looking about the 
room he added, "I am going." 

" Let me go ! my soul is weary 

Of the chain which binds me here ; 
Let my spirit bend its pinion 

To a brighter, holier sphere. 
Earth, 'tis true, has friends to bless me 

With their fond and faithful love ; 
But the hands of angels beckon 

Me to brighter climes above." 

Rev. John VanLaw was born in southern Ohio ? 
October 5, 1831, and was married to Miss Rachel F. 
Patterson, September 25, 1853. By parentage and 
early education himself and family were in com- 
munion with the Friends society until 1869. 
At his home in Athens, Ohio, he connected 
himself with the Sabbath-school of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He attributed his first re- 
ligious awakening while in charge of a class of 
young ladies. During a protracted meeting, con- 
ducted by Rev. J. M. Jamison, D. D., in 1869, 
himself and family were all converted and joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Church at Athens. Soon 
after this he was convinced that God had called 
him to preach the gospel, and at the close of that 
same year he was admitted into the Ohio Confer- 
ence, of which he remained a useful minister un- 
til released by death — at Somerset, Ohio, in 1874. 

On the morning before his death he said, "0 
precious, precious Savior, when will this change 



332 LAST WORDS AND 

come; and how will these precious friends know 
when it is coming? I pray for a comfortable 
hour and profitable to close this life; but never- 
theless, not my will but thine be done/' In the 
evening he said, "This frail tabernacle is being 
dissolved so rapidly and yet so comfortably. It 
will soon be laid away. But I shall see Christ, the 
blessed Christ, the very, very same." Again he 
said,. "Oh, the breeze! the breeze! Surely, he 
maketh all my bed in sickness." When his 
mother mourned the loss of his counsel, he re- 
plied, "Look higher ! Hold up the banner till it 
hide the standard-bearer." 

"I am watchin', aye and waitin', 

For the soundin' o' his footfa', 

Outside the gowlden-gate." 

His daughter said, "He was conscious to the last 

moment, and when almost gone his face lighted 

up with the most triumphaut smile I ever saw." 

w 

Rev. David Whitcomb, of the Ohio Conference, 
died in Indiana. He said, "I am very conscious 
my bodily health and strength are failing; but I 
feel that my hope of eternal life through Jesus 
Christ our Lord is firm as ever." 

John Walker was born in Burlington County, 
New Jersey, and died April 5, 1849, in the 
eighty-fifth year of his age. He was converted 
to God at Mt. Holly, when nineteen years old. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 333 

At the age of twenty-one he was licensed as a 
local preacher, and was received on probation in 
the Philadelphia Conference in 1802. In the 
spring of 1885 he took a supernumerary relation, 
and spent the remainder of his days in Clarks- 
borough. 

A volume might be written concerning the ex- 
cellences of our departed father. As a man he 
was universally beloved; as a Christian his piety 
was deep and genuine. He possesed much of the 
spirit of the beloved John, whose name he bore. 
As a preacher his preaching was plain, simple, and 
unadorned. "Jesus and the resurrection," was 
his constant theme. As a minister of the New 
Testament he was successful in winning souls. 
He was in labors more abundant not only in days 
of health and strength, but in old age and infirm- 
ities. He did not think because he was a super- 
numerary that his work was done. Two days 
after preaching his last sermon he received a fall, 
from the effects of which he never recovered. 
From that time he was helpless. His sufferings 
were great, but he bore them with Christian pa- 
tience and submission. His last days were peace- 
ful, and his death honorable to the religion he 
professed. Like Paul, he looked back upon his 
life with pleasure, and forward with joy, exclaim- 
ing, "I am now ready to be offered," etc. 



334 LAST WORDS AND 

The past, the present, and the future all smiled 
upon him. His departure was like the setting 
sun. To him death had no sting, the grave no 
terrors, and eternity no darkness. On the Satur- 
day before his death (after which time he spoke 
out little) he said to Brother Day that his "suffer- 
ings were great, but they would soon be over." 
He said, "Oh, how gladly would I exchange time 
for eternity!" On being asked what word he 
wished to send to the preachers at conference he 
replied, with peculiar emphasis, "Tell them I am 
going to heaven; that I have no doubt of it — no, 
not a doubt of it. I am going to heaven." 

Rev. William Williams was born in Worces- 
ter County, Maryland, December 26, 1786. Of 
the period of his conversion and union with the 
Methodist Episcopal Chnrch we are not informed. 
He received license to exhort in 1808, and entered 
the itineracy in 1810. His last appointment was 
to Carolina Circuit. Here he was soon called to 
witness the death of his venerable colleague. 
The blow destined to fall upon himself was not 
long delayed. He was attacked with bilious fever, 
of which he died September 29, 1841, in the fifty- 
fifth year of his age and thirty-second of his min- 
istry. 

During his illness he was visited by his presid- 
ing elder, to whom he said, while his countenance 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 335 

brightened with Christian joy and hope, "Brother, 
there is do mistake but that God is with me now. 
The work is done. I am ready and waiting for 
the chariot to come along, and then I shall step 
in and be off." 

Rev. Benjamin W. Walker wps born in Spring- 
field, Vermont, April 26, 1809, and died March. 
26, 1871, aged sixty-two years. His last public 
services were in his church at Quarryville, on the 
first Sabbath in January, when he preached and 
administered the sacrament. From this time he 
gradually failed, until March 28, when he passed 
away. He had no fear of death, but looked for- 
ward with joy to "mansions of rest." He de- 
sired that his funeral sermon should be preached 
from II. Tim. iv. 6-8, while instead of sad funeral 
dirges he selected to be sung on that occasion the 
joyful hymns commencing, "On Jordan's stormy 
banks I stand." "I will sing you a song of that 
beautiful land." "Land ahead, its fruits are wav- 
ing." Confident that in that solemn hour his 
glad soul would be rejoicing in glory, he would 
not have his friends on earth indulge in sorrow. 

Alexander M. Whitney was born of respecta- 
ble parents, in Adams County, Minnesota, Jan- 
uary 16, 1817,. He was reared in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord. While a youth he 



336 LAST WORDS AND 

was sent to Augusta College, where he. receive 1 a 
good English education. He was exemplary in 
his moral deportment from childhood. At the 
age of eighteen he was awakened to a sense of 
his sinfulness, and, as a seeker of salvation, unit- 
ed with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Fay- 
ette, Jefferson County, to which place his father 
had removed. 

On the 5th of October, 1842, he expressed great 
comfort in listening to Sister Dunwody read the 
Holy Scriptures. With her he had conversed a 
short time before on what was the most desirable 
frame of mind to die in. He said he preferred 
the frame of prayer rather than praise. Soon 
after the reading of the Scriptures just referred 
to he requested all present to join him in prayer. 
He himself commenced; and with unwonted ap- 
propriateness and unusual energy he prayed ten 
or fifteen minutes, in a tone quite as loud as usual. 
In his prayer he earnestly besought his heavenly 
Father to give him dying grace. He closed, and 
said, "Amen." He then asked his physician if 
he considered him in full possession of his facul- 
ties, who answered, "Certainly." He then ex- 
pressed gratitude to God, asked Sister Dunwody 
if she recollected their late conversation, requested 
that his parents should be written to, and almost 
immediately died. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 337 

Rev. Levi White was born in Hamilton Coun- 
ty, Ohio, May 21, 1798. Like most of the great 
and good men of our race, he had a noble mother, 
who, in the providence of God, blessed the world 
with eleven children — eight sons and three daugh- 
ters. Through the instrumentality of our pioneer 
ministers, at an early period Methodism was in- 
troduced into the vicinity of where the town of 
Carthage now stands, and attracted the attention 
of Mr. White's family, and soon the excellent 
wife and mother and one daughter became mem- 
bers. In 1815 Levi, then in his seventeenth year, 
experienced religion and united with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. It was not long before 
the father and all the children who had come to 
years made choice of the same religion and the 
same church; and their house became a preach- 
ing-place on the old Miami Circuit. 

In the fall of 1822 he was recommended by his 
district conference to the Ohio Conference as a 
suitable person to be admitted into the traveling 
connection. In 1866 he was appointed to Miami 
Circuit; and with the end of this conference year 
he closed his mortal life and labors. He received 
forty- four annual appointments from the author- 
ities of the church, and cheerfully accepted them 
all, and applied himself with untiring zeal, energy, 
and industry to promote the cause of his divine 

22 



338 LAST WORDS AND 

Master. It would be an interesting item if I 
could give the number he received into the church 
during the forty years. The light of eternity can 
alone disclose that multitude. 

We think what was said of Barnabas may be 
fitly said of Brother White : "For he was a good 
man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; 
and much people was added unto the Lord." He 
loved his family with most intense affection ; and 
next to his home-circle, he loved the society of 
Methodist preachers. 

His death was unexpected to himself and to his 
friends till it was near at hand. He kept about 
till Saturday, the .-18th of August, when it was 
supposed a paralysis of the brain took place, and 
he passed into an unconscious state. He remain- 
ed in this condition until August 21, 1866, when 
he expired. Though he was unable to report to 
his family and colleague a victorious triumph 
over death, yet we are assured, from a long and 
useful life devoted to God and his cause, that all 
was well with him in the last struggle. 

Rev. Perley B. Wilbur, president of the Wes- 
leyan Female College, of Cincinnati, died at his 
residence, on Saturday morning, June 11, 1859. 
He was born December 21, 1806, in Duchess 
County, New York. In 1834 he graduated with 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 339 

high honors at the Wesleyan University, at Mid- 
dletown, Conn. In 1838 he was elected to the 
presidency of Buckingham Female College, in 
Virginia. The next year he was elected to the 
presidency of Washington College, Mississippi, 
which honor he declined, and. labored faithfully 
years at Buckingham. In 1842 he was elected 
president of Wesleyan Female College, Cincin- 
nati; and on the 1st of September he opened the 
school, and laid the foundation of that noble in- 
stitution. Under his vigilant eye, unyielding pur- 
pose, and uncompromising integrity the institu- 
tion has grown from a mere handful in a private 
room to one of the largest in the land. The 
whole history of the institution under Brother 
Wilbur's charge, for a period of seventeen years, 
has been one of progressive development and un- 
exampled success. As a teacher of young ladies 
he occupied the foremost rank. Scholars of his 
careful training and instruction are found in ev- 
ery state in the union, and among the missionaries 
in Asia, South America, Africa, and the islands 
of the sea. 

His death was sudden and unexpected. He 
died of congestion of the brain in thirty hours. 
It is to be regretted that he was not permitted to 
give a verbal testimony of the triumph of his 
his faith in the last conflict. But his life, better 



340 LAST WORDS AND 

than all utterance of speech, was a living and 
daily witness of the truth and power of the re- 
ligion of the blessed Savior. He died without a 
struggle or a groan. All was quiet "as we stood 
around the bed. We knew that the angels were 
opening wide the portals of the land of rest, and 
that the weary toiler of earth, now the crowned 
victor of heaven, was with exceeding joy entering 
in. 

" Serene, serene, 
He pressed the crumbling verge of this terrestial scene ; 

Breathed soft, in child-like trust, 
The patient groan ; 

Gave back to dust its dust, — 
To heaven its own. 

Wilberforce. "Come and sit near me; 



let me lean on you," said Wilberforce to a friend 
a few minutes before his death. Afterward, put- 
ting his arm around the friend, he said, "God 
bless you, my dear." He became agitated some- 
what, and then ceased speaking. Presently, 
however, he said, "I must leave you, my fond 
friend. We shall walk no farther through this 
world together; but I hope we shall meet in 
heaven. Let us talk of heaven. Do not weep 
for me, dear F., — do not weep, — for I am very 
happy ; but think of me, and let the thought make 
you press forward. I never knew happiness till 
I found Christ as a Savior. Read the Bible — read 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 341 

the Bible. Let no religious book take its place. 
Through all my perplexities and distresses I nev- 
er read auy other book ; and I never felt the want 
of any other. It has been my hourly study; and 
all my knowledge of the doctrines, and all my 
acquaintances with the experience and realities of 
religion, have been derived from the Bible only. 
I think religious people do not read the Bible 
enough. Books about religion may be useful 
enough, but they will not do instead of the sim- 
ple truth of the Bible." He afterward spoke of 
the regret of parting with his friends. "Noth- 
ing," said he, "convinces me more of the reality 
of the change within me than the feelings with 
which I can contemplate a separation from my 
family. I now feel so weaned from earth, my 
affections so much in heaven, that I can leave 
you all without a regret. Yet I do not love you 
less, but God more." 

"I think religious people do not read the Bible 
enough." Wilberforce had nothing at the time 
to say of the infidel part of the world neglecting 
God's word. He spoke of something which was 
to him of more painful interest. Need we enlarge 
on his words ? Who of all the disciples of Christ 
read the Bible too much ? Who read enough ? 
Will the pious reader put these questions to him- 
self? A dying hour will be sweet to the soul if 



34 3 LAST WORDS AND 

through life we have constantly made the Bible 
our companion, and God our counselor and 
friend. 

Rev. William Winans, D. D., of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church South, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, November, 1788. He joined the Western 
Conference in 1808, and volunteered to go to the 
south-west section of the country and perform 
pioneer work in the distant settlements of Louis- 
iana and Mississippi. He was a man of great 
energy and mental power. He was a member of 
the seven general conferences from 1824 to 1844. 
He was a very plain man in his dress and man- 
ners, — a truly evangelical preacher of the old 
Methodist type. He died in Mississippi, August 
31, 1857. 

Bishop Richard Whatecoat was a native of 
England. In 1761 he was converted, and in 1784 
came to America. Upward of six years of the 
latter part of his life he served the church as 
bishop till past the seventieth year of his age. 
In life and death he was placid and calm. 

He was born at Quinton, in 1736, and joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of 
twenty-one years. He was converted September 
3, 1758; was sanctified March 28, 1761; was 
elected superintendent in May, 1800. He died at 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 343 

Dover, Delaware, July 5, 1806. He was in all re- 
spects one of the most remarkable men of his 
age. He rests well. 

Rev. Nicholas Watters was born in Maryland, 
November 20, 1739, and died in Charleston, South 
Carolina, August 10, 1804, in the sixty-fourth 
year of his age. 

His venerable brother, William Watters, writes 
as follows in behalf of him : "Seven brothers of 
us (of whom I am the youngest) and two sisters, 
all, through the mercy of God, professed to be 
converted to the Lord Jesus Christ in less than 
nine months of one another, and joined the 
Methodists, in the year of our Lord 1771. My 
oldest brother and both my sisters have departed 
this life some time, but lived and died in the 
Lord and in the Methodist Church. As I was 
the first American that entered the traveling con- 
nection, so I have often feared that the first shall 
be the last, as few who have had the same op- 
portunities have been more unprofitable. In 
hopes that I shall live and die with the Lord's 
people, and then join all who have gone before, 
my greatest glory and rejoicing is to subscribe 
myself the servant of Christ and his church." 

The dying words of Nicholas Watters will 
cheer his surviving friends, and lead us to hope 



344 LAST WORDS AND 

all is well, and that God in his unerring wisdom 
was pleased to call his servant home at the right 
time and place. He was heard to speak these 
submissive and expressive words, "I am not afraid 
to die, if it be the will of God. I desire to de- 
part and be with Christ. The church will sustain 
no loss by my death, for the Lord will supply my 
place with a man that will be more useful. 
Thanks be to God, through his grace I have con- 
tinued to live and to labor faithfully to the end." 
Nearly his last words were, 

" Farewell, vaiu world, I'm going home, 
My Jesus smiles, and bids me come." 

Rev. David Wolf was born in Pennsylvania, 
August 19, 1821, and died April 9, 1875. He 
said, "It will be better on the other side. It's all 
right now. I am trusting Jesus. I am washed 
in the blood of the Lamb." 

Rev. Thomas Allen Whitted was born in 
North Carolina, January 3, 1810, and died April 
2, 1871. He was chaplain of the Twenty-seventh 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. To a ministerial 
brother who visited him shortly before his death 
he said, "Hallelujah ! hallelujah! hallelujah! My 
anchor is cast, and it holds this quivering bark 
against the surging waves and billows of death. 
My hope is in Christ, the power of God. This is 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 345 

the victory that overcorneth, even our faith. 
Though the outward man may perish, the inward 
man is renewed day by day. I am coasting, and 
the coast is clear." 

Rev. Bartholomew Weed was born in Connec- 
ticut, March 6, 1798, and died in New Jersey, 
January 5, 1879. He was a Methodist of the old 
style. He said, "I did not expect to be here so 
long. Now I am only waiting, waiting on the 
shore. But there is no alarm. I find firm foot- 
ing." 

Rev. J. B. Wakefield, D. D., was born in Dan- 
bury, Connecticut, and died in New York, April 
21, 1875. u The doctors tell me there is no hope 
of my recovery. I am ready to be offered up. I 
see my cruwn and my inheritance." Yes," said 
one, "but you must die to possess them," to which 
he instantly replied, 

"By death I shall escape from death, 
And life eternal gain." 

I have fought long, fought honorably, fought suc- 
cessfully, fought for God, fought for Jesus, fought 
for Methodism, and fought for Christianity. I 
have not gained all I wished, but through Christ 
I have taken great spoils. 'He that believeth in 
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and 
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 



346 LAST WORDS AND 

die.'" Looking at me very earnestly he said, 
"Believest thou this?" I said, "With all my 
heart;" to which he responded with much emo- 
tion, "So do I!" Lifting his hand he said, 

" 'The head that once was crowned with thorns, 
Is crowned with glory now ; 
A royal diadem adorns 
The mighty Victor's brow.' 

The spiritual kingdom of Christ in the earth is a 
mighty one. It must be set up in all the earth. 
It will prevail." 

A few hours before his death I asked him, 
"What shall I say to your brethren in the minis- 
try from you?" "Preach the word; be instant 
in season, out of season ; reprove, exhort with all 
long-suffering and doctrine," repeating the words 
three times, "with all long-suffering." "Tell them 
what St. Peter says, 'If any speak, let him speak 
as the oracles of God; if any minister, let him 
do as of the ability which God giveth, that God 
in all things may be glorified through Jesus 
Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever 
and ever. Amen V Tell them to preach the old 
gospel.. We want no new one. It can't be im- 
proved. One might as well attempt to improve a 
ray of sunshine, while vivifying a flower. The 
grand old gospel, forever. Tell them to go where 
they are sent." Speaking of his own case he said, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 347 

"I leave all with God. I want it distinctly under- 
stood I do so without fear, without any cowardice, 
without any alarm. I do it with the boldness of 
an old soldier, and with the calmness of a saint." 
He also said, "They will inquire in the morning if 
Brother Wakefield is dead. Dead? No! Tell 
them he is better, and alive for evermore." I said, 
"Yes, and enjoying a higher and a nobler life." 
He replied, "Wonderfully enlarged ! Oh, wonder- 
fully enlarged ! Let me have a little lot in the 
quiet cemetery, and let me sleep there until the 
great rising-day. I know the old ship. The 
Pilot knows me well. He will take me safe into 
port. Heavenly breezes already fan my cheeks. 
I shall not be a stranger in heaven. I am well 
known up there. Like Bunyan, I see a great 
multitude with robes, and I long to be with them. 
To depart and be with Christ is far better. When 
you go to the grave don't go weeping. The grave 
hath no terror. Eternity hath no darkness. Sing 
at my funeral, 

'Rejoice, for a brother deceased, 
Our loss is his infinite gain.' 

"For many years neither death nor the grave 
have had any terrors for me. Hark! hark! hear 
ye not the song ? Victory is ours. There is 
great rejoicing in heaven. Roll open, ye golden 
gates, and let my car go through. But I must 



348 LAST WORDS AND 

wait till the death angel descends." And soon 
the death-angel came, and his freed spirit ascend- 
ed to glory and to God. 

Rev. George W. Walker was born in Freder- 

r 

ick County, Maryland, November 26, 1804, and 
died in Willmington, Ohio, July 31, 1856, in the 
thirtieth year of his effective ministry. 

He was taken suddenly ill, and at one time re- 
marked, "I have a presentiment that I shall not 
recover ; and yet I can hardly believe that I am 
to die yet. Still, the Lord will do what is right. 
It is all with the Lord. I have always acted in 
my past life in view of this great truth, 'Thou, 
God, seest me.' " 

To Brother Collet he said, "I have been trying 
to do the Lord's will for the last thirty years. I 
am now suffering his will." After the reading of 
the fourteenth chapter of John, he said, "Yes ; 
that is what I have. Peace, peace. I have no 
sense of condemnation, nor any unusual sense of 
the divine approval, but peace with God. The 
Lord can raise me if he will, but if I die I have no 
doubt but that I shall be saved." When asked 
by Rev. William Simmons if he had a message to 
send to the conference he simply replied, "They 
know Walker." At another time he said, "I am 
ready to die or live." After midnight he aroused 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 3-49 

from a stupor and exclaimed, "Shout! shout! 
why don't you shout?" A few moments before 
his death he said, "Victory! Glory! Hallelujah!" 
He was buried at Grerniantown, and on his monu- 
ment is inscribed his favorite motto in health, 
sickness, and death, "Where should I die but at 
my post ? " 

Eev. John Flavel Wright, D. D., was born in 
North Carolina, July 30, 1795. He was converted 
iii 1813, and joined the Virginia Conference in 
1815. In 1821 he was transferred to the Ohio 
Conference ; and in 1832 he was elected one of the 
book-agents at Cincinnati, which office he filled 
acceptably for twelve years. During the civil war 
he was appointed chaplain of the First Kentucky 
Eegiment, and accompanied the army through 
western Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. On 
his return he was appointed chaplain to the mil- 
itary hospitals in Cincinnati, where he faithfully 
ministered to the temporal and spiritual wants of 
our sick, disabled, and dying soldiers. Subse- 
quently he was appointed "conference evangelist." 
An extract from one of his reports will show 
clearly how faithfully he continued to labor for the 
good of his fellow-men : "I deemed it prudent to 
seek a more uniform and milder climate, and on 
the 18th of January I started for the southern bor- 
der of Louisiana, near the Gulf of Mexico. Here 



350 LAST WORDS AND 

I was cordially received at the Orphans' Home, 
where I served as temporary pastor, the most of 
the time, for three months. We had nearly one 
hundred at the services every evening, consisting 
of reading a scripture lesson and prayer, and often 
a brief address. I frequently preached on Sab- 
bath, and assisted in the Sunday-school. 

"At home the pastors and their congregations 
gave me a cordial welcome wherever I visited. The 
people in nearly all the charges where I labored 
seemed to be enjoying a good state of spiritual life, 
and to hear the word preached with much apparent 
interest, intense thought, and unremitting atten- 
tion. I trust, through the agency of the divine 
Spirit, some good was accomplished. 

"I have much pleasure in visiting the venerable 
veterans of the cross of Christ. They sometimes 
teach me how to be old to advantage. I love to 
hear them talk of the way along which they have 
traveled, and now they feel as they are nearing 
the crossings of Jordan. I love to hear them 
sing, 

'On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, 

And cast a wishful eye 
To Canaan's fair and happy land, 
Where my possessions lie.' 

If it would not lessen their joy I would venture 
to say this much,- "At evening-time it shall be 
light." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 351 

In conclusion, I desire to say I have had a very 
happy conference year, and think I can not ex- 
press my state more in accordance with my own 
consciousness, and the witness of the divine Spirit 
within me, than in the following words of the 
song: 

'I have entered the valley of blessings so sweet, 

And Jesus abides with me there, 
And his Spirit and blood make my cleansing complete, 
And his perfect love casteth out fear.' 

If there is anything in my heart contrary to love, 
I confess my diligent search has failed to find it. 
Jesus and his love seem to fill all the space. To 
dwell in unmixed love, and to be filled with per- 
fect love, must be the state St. John sets forth and 
so beautifully and sweetly describes, "God is love ; 
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and 
God in him." My fixed purpose is to show forth 
the praises of my merciful and almighty Savior, 
who hath called and brought me out of darkness 
into his clear and marvelous light. To him be 
glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 

This venerable and saintly minister died at the 
residence of his son, Mr. John R. Wright, .East 
Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, on Saturday, September 
13, 1878. Father Wright had been very feeble 
in body, and rarely left the house. His mind, 
however, continued lucid to the last. As late as 



352 LAST WORDS AND 

ten o'clock the night before his death he and his 
aged wife held a prayer-meeting in their room, 
during which he was very fervent in spirit, and 
in his exclamations of holy joy. He asked 
his wife to pray for the Lord to come and take 
him. She replied, "I have; and he will come 
soon." Whereupon he became very quiet, and so 
rested until in the morning, when, without the 
least muscular contortion, he sweetly fell asleep. 
His death was like a translation. The testimony 
of all who knew this eminent servant of God is, 
that they never knew a purer and happier life 
than his. I have known him personally for 
more than fifty years, and take pleasure in placing 
this record in "Last Words" of the grand old 
veteran. 

Rev. E. A. West was born in Alabama, May 
14, 1836, and died November 6, 1872. "I shall 
soon meet Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the 
holy ones gone before. I hasten to meet thy em- 
brace. I come, O Lord, I come." 

But what is death ? 
'Tis but the prelude to unending bliss, 
The night that breaks on the eternal morn. 
The grave shall yield its dead, and man shall be 
Immortal as his God ! 

Bishop Beverley Waugh, D. D., was born in 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 353 

Fairfax County, Virginia, October 25, 1789, and 
died in the city of Baltimore, February 9, 1858. 
Jn 1809, in his twentieth year, he entered the Bal- 
timore Conference, and for eighteen years filled a 
number of the most prominent appointments. In 
1828 he was elected assistant book-agent at New 
York, with John Emory, who was afterward 
elected bishop ; and in 1832 he was elected prin- 
cipal book-agent. In 1836 he was elected bishop. 
He filled that responsible office for nearly twenty- 
two years. During the whole time of his minis- 
try, of forty-nine years, was never disqualified 
from labor, and was never absent from one of his 
conferences, as presiding bishop, for twenty-two 
years. 

During his whole term of episcopal service he 
traveled one hundred thousand miles and preach- 
ed two thousand sermons, presided over one hun- 
dred and fifty conferences and ordained nearly 
three thousand elders and deacons. His was a love- 
ly character as a Christian, and a humble, devoted 
worker for the Master. He died suddenly, of dis- 
ease of the heart. His remains lie in Olivet Cem- 
etery, alongside Bishops Asbury, George, and 
Emory. He died with armor on. 

"Oh that, without a lingering groan, 
I may the welcome word receive ; 
My body with my charge lay down, 
And cease at once to work and live! " 
23 



354 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Charles B. Warrington, of the Ohio Con- 
ference, was born in the city of Manchester, Eng- 
land, March 13, 1814. In the spring of 1818 he 
emigrated with his parents to this country, and 
settled in the town of Albion, Edwards County, 
Illinois. In 1830 he went to Springfield, Clark Co., 
Ohio, to learn a trade, and subsequently estab- 
lished himself in business in the village of South 
Charleston, where he was united in marriage to 
Miss Mary Davisson, eldest daughter of Isaac Da- 
visson, Esq., in November, 1836. 

Brother Warrington died February 24, 1850, at 
the parsonage in the village of Huntsville, in the 
bosom of his family, and in the presence of a few 
of his friends, after an illness of some twelve or 
fourteen days. For weeks previous to his attack 
he had enjoyed himself much in his Christian ex- 
perience, having a continual religious peace. 

A note from his brother George will give a just 
idea of the state of his mind: ''During all the 
time I was with him, with one or two exceptions, 
whether in his right mind or not, he seemed to be 
in sweet communion with his Savior, talking to 
and with him, as with a man face to face; and 
nothing seemed to grieve him half so much as the 
fear that he might in some way give offense to his 
Savior, and cause him to withdraw himself from 
him. In all these imaginary conversations with 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 355 

his Lord he did not seem to entertain a doubt of 
his soul's final salvation and happiness. His lead- 
ing theme was the ultimate triumph of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom on earth, and the salvation of 
the world." 



Rev. Thomas L. Young said, when dying, "I 
feel like an atom floating upon an ocean of glory. 
I shall soon pass away and scarcely know the 
change." 

Rev. Samuel B. Yarrington was born October 
10, 1810, and died April 16, 1846, being in the 
thirty- sixth year of his age. Hi3 conversion, 
which was sound and scriptural, occurred when 
he was a lad about fifteen years old. He com- 
menced calling sinners to repentance when he was 
about twenty-two years of age. He almost imme- 
diately entered the itinerant ranks; but through 
intense application to study, together with preach- 
ing "too long and too loud," he soon sapped the 
foundation of a naturally feeble constitution, and 
ever after suffered much from the prostration and 
derangement of a nervous system. This was a 
frequent occasion of grief to his brethren, as it 
tended to detract from his usefulness, and no doubt 
diminished the measure of his own enjoyment. 



356 LAST WORDS AND 

He sustained his relation to this body, laboring 
with more or less efficiency, for about fourteen 
years. Near the close of his life he became deeply 
convinced of his need of a clean heart. He had 
once enjoyed this gracious state, but had lost the 
invaluable boom He wrestled unceasingly, and 
soon entered into the perfect liberty of the chil- 
dren of God. 

He now labored with increasing ardor to save 
souls, until his strength utterly failed, when he 
took to his bed, to rise from it no more until the 
emancipated spirit should leave the clay tenement 
to dwell in the paradise of God. It was now evi- 
dent to all that his work was done, and that he 
was fast ripening for heaven. God graciously in 
his last days removed the cloud which had hung 
so heavily upon him the latter part of his life, and 
permitted the powers of a well-trained and sancti- 
fied intellect to break forth with unwonted luster 
and strength. He already breathed the atmos- 
phere of heaven, and longed to partake of its con- 
summated bliss. The last week of his sojourn on 
the shores of time presented a scene of triumph 
which can only be witnessed around the couch of 
the dying saint, and constitutes one of the pecul- 
iar glories of Christianity. 

The body which had hitherto weighed so heav- 
ily upon the mind seemed now, by the vigor of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 357 

that mind, to be borne heavenward. He, with 
great composure, closed up his earthly business, 
made arrangements for his funeral, and waited 
with eager expectation for his final change. At 
times, to be by his dying-bed was to be in the 
very precincts of heaven. When articulation had 
almost failed a friend observed him attempting to 
speak. Applying his ear close to his lips, he dis- 
tinctly heard these words : 

"They're round my bed, they're in my room, 
They wait to waft my spirit home. 

All is well ! all is well ! " 

Rev. David Young, D. D., an able minister of 
the Ohio Conference, was born in Bedford Coun- 
ty, Virginia, in 1799. In 1805 he joined the 
Western Conference, and from that time until 
1839 he continued to preach regularly. He was a 
fine scholar and a popular speaker. He was for 
fifty-three years a member of an annual confer- 
ence, and six times a member of General Confer- 
ence. He died in peace at his home in Zanesville, 
Ohio, November 5, 1858. 

Rev. Robert Boyd Yard was born in Trenton, 
New Jersey, January 2, 1828, and died July 17, . 
1875. He sent this message to the ministers: 
<k Tell them to be truly religious, fully consecrated 
to God, and to aim at saving souls. Nothing else is 



358 LAST WORDS AND 

worth a thought. Make your religious life the 
joy of living. Tell them not to be inwrapped in 
the style of the day, but 'clothed in the righteous- 
ness of Christ.' Tell them that of late Christ's 
work has been to me a constant feast, of which 
the bliss of these dying hours and the glory that 
I see approaching are a fit consummation. Bless 
God! hallelujah! Jesus is sweet, sweet, sweeter! 
Heaven is near, nearer, nearing?" 

Rev. Jacob Young, D. D., was born in western 
Pennsylvania, March 19, 1776. In 1801 he went 
to Kentucky, where he was licensed to preach. 
For more than fifty years he was actively engaged 
in the work of the ministry. He was a man of 
great intellectual power, and was much beloved 
by the brethren of the Ohio and Cincinnati con- 
ferences. His life has been published by the late 
Bishop Hamline. He died peacefully, on the 15th 
of September, 1859. His last words were, "Sweet 
heaven, sweet heaven." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 359 



APPENDIX. 



Bishop Edward Raymond Ames, D. D., LL. D. 
was born in Amesville, Athens County, Ohio, 
May 20, 1806, and died in Baltimore, in April, 
1879. He was of stout, brave, Puritan blood. 
His grandfather was one of Washington's chap- 
lains. He was pastor of a church in Trenton, 
Massachusetts, and he died at Valley Forge, in 
1778. The spirit, the strength, and the patriot- 
ism of that grandfather were repeated in the 
grandson. 

Bishop Ames was educated in the Ohio Univer- 
sity; and during his student-life he united with 
the church, in August, 1827. After leaving the 
university he engaged for some time in teaching, 
and entered the traveling ministry in the Illinois 
Conference in 1830. At the formation of the In- 
diana Conference, in 1832, he became one of its 
members, and spent his active pastoral life in the 
State of Indiana, with the exception of two years 



360 LAST WORDS AND 

spent in St. Louis. After filling important sta- 
tions and and acting as presiding elder he was in 
1840 elected missionary secretary, his work being 
chiefly in the West. He traveled extensively, 
visiting the Indian missions along the northern 
lakes and on the western frontier, and aiding in 
establishing schools among the Indian tribes west 
of Arkansas. From 1844 to 1852 he was a sta- 
tioned preacher or presiding elder in Indiana. 
In 1848 he was elected president of the Indiana 
Asbury University; but he declined the position, 
preferring to remain in the more active minis- 
terial work. He was a delegate to the general 
conferences of 1840, 1844, and 1852. In the latter 
year he was elected bishop. He traveled exten- 
sively through all the states and territories, first 
visiting the Pacific coast, in 1852-53. He was a 
firm and ardent supporter of the union during 
the civil war. Though offered positions of in- 
fluence, he declined them, that he might be free 
for ecclesiastical duties. He was a man of broad 
views, an eloquent preacher, an able and skillful 
presiding officer, and strong advocate of all 
church-interests. His health was impaired for 
several years ; but he continued in his work until 
a few weeks before his death. 

Dr. Fowler said of him : "Surely we can afford 
to pay great honor to such a one as Bishop Ames. 



OLD TIME MEMORIES. 361 

In his religions life he did not type in the ordin- 
ary fashion. He handled a camp-meeting, or a 
prayer-meeting, or a class-meeting, or any meet- 
ing for spiritual growth and action, as he handled 
a conference on a new territory, or a new prob- 
lera, to see how much might come out of it to 
huild up the church. His spiritual life and faith 
are probably to be put in that supreme statement. 
When asked if he was confident in the Lord he 
replied, 'Of course I am. I can stand it better 
than the Lord can to have it fail.' His was a 
great faith, that worked on day and night in a 
realm almost untouched and unaffected by his 
emotional and sentimental nature ; a faith that could 
say without doubt, 'I am ready to be put to 
bed in the darkness as well as in the light, if that 
shall please the great Father.' 

"We have not time to do justice to so great a 
man. It is enough for us that through the cen- 
turies to come, when pilgrims make their way to 
the Monumental City, and seek for the spot where 
Francis Asbury was consecrated to the work of a 
bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, they 
will not leave that city until they have also bowed 
at the spot where Bishop Ames slumbers; for the 
great statesman of American Methodism slum- 
bers in the very cradle of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church in this country." 



362 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Laurenson Dashiell, D. D., senior secre- 
tary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, died at his residence, Roseville, 
(a suburb of Newark, New Jersey,) on Monday 
evening, March 8, 1880. 

In the death of Dr. Dashiell the Methodist 
Episcopal Church has lost one of its most eloquent 
ministers and most honored and useful servants. 
He has fallen, after having just entered the youth 
of old age, being about fifty-three years old. He 
was born and raised in Somerset County, eastern 
shore of Maryland. He was but twenty years of 
age when he joined the Baltimore Conference, in 
1848, having received a furnishing for his duties 
at Dickinson College, from which he graduated in 
1846. Nature, grace, and culture, all conspired to 
give him success in the work to which he was 
called. He was tall and erect in person, and com- 
manding and graceful in his manners. He was 
possessed of an expressive countenance, and a 
voice of rare flexibility and power, capable at once 
of the softest and sweetest tones, and also of the 
loudest and boldest. His style was perspicuous, 
forcible, and even elegant. His information was 
very extensive and accurate. 

At the General Conference of 1872 he was 
elected to the office of missionary secretary, with 
the Rev. Drs. T. M. Eddy and J. M. Reid as col- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 363 

leagues. Such was the acceptability with which 
he administered this important office that at the 
ensuing General Conference of 1876 he was re- 
elected by a large majority on the first ballot. 

He went out from the office one day expecting 
that a slight touch of the surgeon's knife would 
restore him in a few days to his desk ; but he 
came back with the sentence of death upon him. 
The fortitude with which he met this unexpected 
condition of affairs, and adjusted himself to it, 
was truly amazing. He at once surrendered his 
work and cheerfully addressed himself to the 
dreadful struggle, hoping all the while for the 
best. He lay upon his couch asserting continu- 
ally the power of divine grace for even these 
dreadful emergencies, and commending to saint 
and sinner the religion of Jesus Christ as sufficient 
for all the ills of life. But when he came to lay 
himself down on the table for the operation that 
was performed for his temporary relief, the grace 
within him shone out with richest luster. The 
surgeon, about to administer the anaesthetic, said 
to him, "Now, doctor, you must loose sight of all 
of us for a little while ;" and he replied, "I know 
it ; but my heavenly Father will not for one mo- 
ment lose sight of me." Then, too, when in his 
dreams he came to the cold river, and found no 
way of crossing, neither bridge, nor boat, nor 



364 LAST WORDS AND 

plank, and the bleeding hand of Christ spanned 
the river with a bridge, over which he crossed in 
safety, he tells us what he thought. First, he 
thought of his whole life spent in the service of 
God, of his labors, sacrifices, and sufferings for 
Christ; but these gave him no hope. Then he 
thought of results, of the -many souls he had 
brought to the * .Redeemer, and the many other 
good works he had done in the great name of Je- 
hovah ; but .there was no hope there. But when 
the atonement, full-orbed, arose upon his dark- 
ness and despair, then hope and joy dawned upon 
his soul. So he died, in great physical suffering, 
but in the abundant comforts and hopes of the 
glorious gospel of Christ. The ends of the earth 
weep for him, for the monuments ot his toil are in 
all lands. 

Professor Merritt Caldwell was born in Ox- 
ford, Maine, November 29, 1806. "It will be 
enough," he said to me the day before he died, 
"if I get to heaven and see Jesus." For some 
time prior to his death he would occasionally 
break out in accents of praise to God, "Glory to 
God! Glory to God in the highest! Glory to 
Jesus!" These expressions he would repeat with 
an emphasis and power known to but few, except 
to the dying. About two hours before his death 
a scene came on of absorbing interest. He cast 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 365 

his eyes toward his hands and said to his 
mother, with a sweet expression of countenance, 
"Mother, the crisis is at hand." Afterward, when 
a mortal pang seized him, he remarked, "This is 
no ordinary pain;" and requested his wife to be 
called. As she entered the room he reached his 
hand to her and gave her a parting salutation. 
Seeing his little daughter he said, "Let the little 
creature come and kiss me." He then remained 
silent a short time, with extreme suffering, but 
soon said, "My trust is in God; that is the amount 
of it." After a short pause he said, "The will of 
the Lord be done;" and again, very audibly, 
"Through Christ, who strengtheneth me." 

On May 29th he wrote the last letter to his little 
daughter, — now Mrs. Dr. Ridgaway, — little more 
than a week before he went up higher. In this 
he says : "I feel that I am gradually approaching 
my house not made with hands, and feel that it 
will be glorious to exchange earth for heaven. I 
have committed all my family to God, and he 
will do his part in the care of them — of you, my 
dear daughter ; only do your part to take care of 
yourself." 

On May 30th, the day of the month being men- 
tioned, he said, "I may live to see the summer, to 
see the earth spread with green and clothed with 
beauty, but I wonder when I shall again see de- 



366 LAST WORDS AND 

cay. I reckon there is no decay in heaven. If 
there are green leaves there they never fall; there 
shall be no death there." 

On May 31st he said, "I have strength equal to 
my day in every circumstance." This he repeat- 
ed often. Looking at his swelled feet, and ad- 
dressing Mrs. Caldwell, he said, "This looks pleas- 
ant. It is as strange to me as it is to you ; yet I 
like to look at it." After a pause he continued, 
"Surely, you will not lie down on your bed and 
weep when I am gone. You will not mourn for 
me when God has been so good to me all along, 
and will, I trust, sustain me to the end. And 
when you visit the spot where I lie do even not 
choose a sad and mournful hour. 

On June 1st he said, "One symptom after an- 
other assures me that I am approaching my end. 
I have been graciously saved from extreme suffer- 
ings. It may be I shall go down to death with- 
out them ; but I think nothing of that. God 
knows what is best." He then added, "I find an 
additional sweetness in the name of Jesus," and 
repeated, 

"Jesus, the name that charms our fears, 
And bids our sorrows cease." 

Again he remarked, "I have given up nearly 
every care to others. The world goes on almost 
without a thought or care from me." Hearing it 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 367 

remarked that the cares of earth would soon cease 
with us, although they now press upon us for a 
little time, he replied, "Oh, yes ; I would not ex- 
change. I have not viewed it in this li^ht before. 
Oh, no; I would not exchange conditions with 
any of you. I am now wholly the Lord's, and he 
is mine. Glory to God ! Praise the Lord ! " 

June 3d, to a lady who called to see him he 
said, "Mrs. Caldwell told me to-day that I had 
been here twelve weeks. They have been weeks 
of great suffering, yet I believe in all this I can 
say with Job, 'I have not sinned nor charged God 
foolishly.'" 

June 4th, suffering great oppression, he said, "I 
feel, in my extreme debility, just like lying down 
and sleeping in Jesus. I shall sleep in Jesus. He 
is my trust." To a brother, raising him up in bed 
he remarked, "I am very languid." The doctor 
replied, "Yes; but while your outward man per- 
isheth, your inward man is renewed day by day." 
"Oh, yes," said he, "when my mind returns from 
its wanderings, and fixes itself on Christ, there it 
rests." At another time he remarked to the doc- 
tor, "Faith is a great thing. It enables me to 
stand on the dividing-line between the two worlds 
without trembling." 

June 6th, as some one was fanning him he said 
to his mother, "Mother, I have no temptation to 



368 LAST WORDS AND 

murmuring or impatience. On the contrary, I 
feel, as the fan is brushing by me, that the heav- 
enly breezes are passing over me." His mother 
responded, "Glory to God ! I shouted glory to 
God when you were converted; but then I rejoiced 
with trembling, now I rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory. And could I but rejoice 
when I see my son breathing his life away in the 
arms of Jesus, and melting away into the light of 
heaven?" Again, speaking of dying, he remarked, 
"This is not dying. It is the consummation of 
life. A little while, and it will be life eternal." 

One trial more awaited him. He must taste, at 
least, of the cup of his dying Lord. All had been 
bright and cheerful heretofore; but now the cloud 
must be seen in the distance which Christ felt, 
when he exclaimed, "Why hast thou forsaken 
me?" Suddenly, with an expression of deep anx- 
iety, he said, "Mother, pray for me, that my faith 
fail not — that I may not be overcome by tempta- 
tion." The family united in earnest prayer; and 
as strong supplications went up in the darkness 
of death he responded with great fervor; and at 
the mention of the name of Jesus, he would re- 
peat it again and again, saying, "Jesus is my 
trust!" When prayer was ended, he said to those 
who were watching with intense solicitude his 
last moments, "I seem to have lost my landmarks." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 369 

And again he struggled mightily in prayer, like 
one contending for the last victory, repeating and 
resting ' upon his only hope — the name of Jesus. 
He looked to that name as the only star in the 
midst of a midnight gloom. The family again 
knelt in prayer by his bedside, till suddenly vic- 
tory came, and broke forth from the dying man 
as though he stood upon the suburbs of heaven. 
"Glory to God! " he shouted; "glory to God! I 
shall be saved ! Glory to God ! I shall live in 
heaven ! Why was it that I was left? All was 
dark, and I began to fear I should die a sad speci- 
men of a Christian." His mother replied, "It was 
permitted for a trial of your faith; but you will 
come forth as gold. God will not forsake his 
children." He replied with great emphasis, "But 
what if I had not been a Christian?" 

But Death was now doing his last work. The 
dark vail was in a few moments to hide him from 
mortality ; but not till he had a brighter view of 
heaven. In a few minutes he raised his head, and 
waving his right hand, already cold in death, he 
shouted, "Glory to God! glory to God! glory to 
God ! Glory to Jesus ! He is my trust ! he is my 
trust! he is my strength ! Gloryto Jesus ! Mourn 
not for me! Jesus lives — I shall live also! I 
shall be saved ! Glory to God ! Glory to Jesus ! 
glory to Jesus ! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! 

24 



370 LAST WORDS AND 

'Jesus the name that charms our fears, 
And bids our sorrows cease.' 

Jesus is my life! Jesus! Glory to Jesus! " Fee- 
bly, now taking the hand of his wife he said, 
"Farewell, my dear wife. Glory to Jesus ! Jesus 
my life! Jesus my trust ! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! 
J-e-s-u-s!" And Jesus was the last whisper 
caught from his dying lips. 

Thus terminated the mortal career of this truly 
useful man. He lived an ornament to his race, 
and died a cheering and bright example of the 
power of divine grace. What can not grace do 
for man? What did it not do for Merritt Cald- 
well? It found him a fallen being; it made him 
a happy and useful man in life, gave him triumph 
in death, and placed him in heaven, a joint heir 
with Christ — an inheritor of eternal life. Would 
that our world had more such men as was Merritt 

Caldwell. 

v 

Hev. Edmund Waggener Sehon, D. D., was 
born at Moorefield, Hardy County, Virginia, April 
14, 1808, and died at Louisville, Kentucky, June 
7, 1876. 

He came to Ohio when fourteen years old. He 
graduated at the Ohio University, at Athens, in 
his eighteenth year. In 1860 Dr. Sehon visited 
Athens, and referred with much feeling to his 
connection with the university from 1823 to 1827, 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 371 

''Thirty-three years ago," he said, "I delivered the 
valedictory,''' and then, with deep and solemn 
emotion, referred to the niiarhtv changes that 
would take place in thirty years to come. 

When I first met him as my colleague at Wes- 
ley Chapel, Cincinnati, he was a man of magnifi- 
cent physique, with quick, elastic step, and strong- 
ly-marked, expressive face. He was then the most 
popular minister in the West. 

He was licensed to preach October 10, 1827, and 
joined the Pittsburgh Conference. He was trans- 
ferred to the Ohio Conference, and stationed at 
Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, in 1330. In 1833 he 
was transferred to the Missouri Conference, and 
was stationed at St. Louis. 

September 4. 1S33. he was married to Miss 
Caroline A. McLean, daughter of Hon. William 
McLean, of Cincinnati. In 1834 he was trans- 
ferred back to the Ohio Conference, and statioued 
in the city of Columbus, Ohio. In 1836 and 1838 
he was stationed again at Wesley Chapel. 

Subsequently he was ageut of Augusta College, 
and the American Bible Society. In 1844. and 
at the time of the division of the church, he ad- 
hered South, and joined the Tennessee Conference 
and labored with great acceptability and useful- 
:or more than thirty years. He was honored 
and loved by ministers and people uutil death sud- 
denly called him to reward. 



372 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Samuel Ansley, one of the oldest ministers 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, finished his 
work and has gone to his reward. He died at his 
residence, in Pike County, Georgia, April 23, 1837. 

Father Ansley was born February 22, 1765, in 
the State of New Jersey, soon after which his par- 
ents moved to Georgia. In the year 1786 he ex- 
perienced religion, two years after which time he 
received license to preach. In 1790 he commenced 
his - { itinerant ministry in the Virginia Annual 
Conference, and continued his labors as a travel- 
ing preacher until the year 1809, when he located. 
In 1833 he was received again into the Georgia 
Conference, and granted a superannuated relation, 
which he sustained until the Lord removed him to 
his inheritance in heaven. 

Rev. Joshua Boucher was born in Lee County, 
Virginia, April 2, 1797. The family removed 
thence to Tennessee, and in 1815 had its residence 
in Warren County, in that state. In the fall of 
1818 he was admitted on trial in the Tennessee 
Conference. In a letter to his friend, Rev. R. 
Brandriff, written in 1869, he refers to this, say- 
ing, "I went to my work weeping and praying 
most of the way. I asked God to give me favor 
with the people, and to bless my feeble labors 
among them." At the close of the year he was 
transferred to the Mississippi Conference, in which 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 373 

he labored four years, traveling successively, Al- 
abama, Cedar Creek, and Tuscaloosa circuits. He 
then spent one year on Tuscaloosa Station; and 
at its close he asked for and obtained a location. 
His labors had been great and successful. The 
circuits were large, the rides long, and preaching 
an every-day duty. He did not locate because 
the work was laborious, the support meager, the 
accommodations often uncomfortable; but, in 
his own emphatic words, it was "to get out of the 
hell of slavery." 

In the spring of 1827 he removed to Ohio, and 
at the earliest opportunity united with the Ohio 
Conference. Prior to the General Conference of 
1836 the agitation of the question of slavery in 
the church was begun, and subsequent to that 
conference was continued with increased zeal and 
activity. This resulted, as is well known, in the 
organization of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 
on strictly antislavery principles. The ante- 
cedents of Brother Boucher, and his avowed an- 
tislavery sentiments, led him to sympathize with 
this movement ; and in the fall of 1843 he with- 
drew from the Ohio Conference, in order to con- 
nect himself with it. He then reunited with the 
Cincinnati Conference, in 1867. 

During his sickness his confidence in the Lord 
remained unshaken, and almost daily he remark- 



374 LAST WORDS AND 

ed, "I am only waiting, waiting to go home." The 
day before he died he awoke to perfect conscious- 
ness, expressed his devout thankfulness for free- 
dom from pain, and observed to his children, 
whom he fully recognized, "I shall soon be with 
your mother in heaven." To a friend who came 
in he exclaimed, "All is well. I will soon know 
as I am known." Thus closed the life of Joshua 
Boucher, on the evening of November 22, 1873, 
at Kingston, Caldwell County, Missouri, in the 
seventy- seventh year of his age and the fifty- fifth 
of his ministry. 

Rev. John Campbell, D. D., was for many years 
one of the leading ministers of the Congregation- 
al denomination of England, and more than a 
quarter of a century pastor of the Old Tabernacle, 
Moorfield, London, where George Whitefield 
preached. He was editor of the official weekly 
paper and monthly magazine of the denomination 
for two decades. He was an unrivaled contro- 
versalist, and a bold and faithful champion of the 
faith as it is in Jesus. In this capacity he ren- 
dered valuable service to orthodoxy, which was 
assailed by those who ought to have represented 
it. As this venerable and noble minister of 
Christ approached his last he was asked by those 
who watched around his dying-bed, "Is Christ 
precious to you now?" "Unutterably so," was 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 375 

the emphatic response of the grand old soldier of 
the cross. Such a testimony from such a man at 
such a time can not be overestimated. A man of 
imperial and cultured intellect, who had spent a 
life-time examining the foundations of the Chris- 
tian faith and defending them from the attacks 
of infidel and rationalistic assailants, finds in the 
very presence of death that Christ is "unutterably 
precious" to his soul. 

Rev. John H. Fielding, D. D., president of St. 
Charles College, Missouri. The character of 
this man is worthy of record. Several years of 
intimacy with him gave me an opportunity of 
studying the peculiar traits of his character. He 
was a "great and good man." His favorite resort 
was the presence of the dying Christian. I have 
seen him there. He was my friend. Disease had 
done its work. Beside him knelt our beloved 
president; and when his encouraging words 
ceased to be heard, no doubt Caleb Griffith was 
with his Father — God. In the midst of many 
labors and duties Dr. Fielding was taken from us. 
He died as man should die — full of hope, im- 
nioriality, and eternal life. 

When his sun of life was almost set he turned 
to his afflicted companion, who had shared aught 
of good or ill that he had realized, and who now 
stood over her departing husband, and said, "For 



376 LAST WORDS AND 

your comfort, my dear, I wish you to remember 
that I shall not die ; and when you see my body 
laid low in the grave, know that I am not there, 
but in the paradise of God!" Thus died this 
man of God — education's warmest advocate, so- 
ciety's favorite, the widow's and orphan's friend, 
the student's teacher, and a beacon-light for many 
a youth from the valley of the Mississippi to em- 
inence, worth, and even renown. 

Mr. Z. Barney Phillips was born in Cassadaga, 
Chautauqua County, Few York, March 30, 1843. 
He was married to Miss Sallie E. Sharpe, July 
12, 1866, and died in Springfield, at the residence 
of Mr. Thomas Sharpe, May 24, 1879. The de- 
ceased was the brother of Philip Phillips, the 
world-renowned singer. He was a member of 
the One Hundred and Twelfth New York Regi- 
ment for three years, and rendered efficient serv- 
ice for his country. He was the highest style of 
a Christian gentleman — always courteous, pleasant, 
and helpful. 

When near his end he said several times, "I 
have not waited until now to make my peace with 
God. Mine is the same faith now that I have 
had for twelve years. The anchor has never 
dragged. Lord Jesus, come quickly ; yet not my 
will, but thine be done." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 377 

Hon. Joseph Wright was born in Washington 
County, Pa. Wheu eight years of age he came 
with his parents to Indiana. At the age of nine- 
teen he commenced the study of law, and when 
admitted to the bar formed a partnership with 
Gen. T. A. Howard, Esq. In his twenty-third 
year, in 1838, he was elected to the legislature, in 
1840 to the Senate, and in 1843 to congress. In 
1849 he was elected governor of Indiana, and was 
re-elected in 1853. After serving his own state 
for eight years he was appointed minister to Ber- 
lin, in 1857, and in 1865 minister to Prussia. He 
was a Methodist at twenty-six years of age, and a 
devout Christian all his life. His funeral obse- 
quies took place at St. Pauls Methodist Episcopal 
Church, New York, on Thursday afternoon, Au- 
gust 22, commencing at three o'clock. The fol- 
lowing is the address of Bishop Janes : 

The die of eternity stamps the value of time. 
Probation invests human conduct in time with its 
interest and dignity. Judgment and retribution 
give to death its significance and solemnity. Oh, 
how these truths force themselves upon our at- 
tention at this hour ! Our friend has passed from 
our sight. In our thoughts we follow him to the 
spirit-world. We see him as he enters into that 
beatitude which is divine and eternal ; that felic- 
ity which is not only to continue, but in- 



378 LAST WORDS AND 

crease interminably. How the vastness of that 
destiny rises before our minds! An immortal, 
rational, and spiritual being partaking the na- 
ture and enjoying the full fruition of his God ! 
Such is the heaven of Christianity. 

As our conduct in this probationary state se- 
cures to us, through the atonement and mediation 
of Christ and the transforming power of the 
Holy Ghost, an affinity for this heavenly world, 
or, by our impenitence and wicked works, alien- 
ates us from God and disqualifies us for his in- 
heritance, and thus absolutely determines our 
eternal destiny, how grave are all our actions, 
how important our conduct! How immense the 
interests we secure or forfeit ! Oh, w T ho can trifie 
with eternal things? How momentous, then, it is 
that event which cuts off all further opportunity 
of obtaining pardon or transformation — after 
which "he that is filthy is filthy still," and "he 
that is holy is holy still" — which arraigns the 
subject of it before his final Judge, the Arbiter of 
his eternal estate ; which ushers in the moment 
when will be revealed to him his endless destiny! 
Oh, how solemn an event is death ! How perfect 
should be our preparation for it! How terrible 
ble the irretrievable disaster of being overtaken 
by it unprepared! How blessed the result when 
it finds us ready ! 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 379 

The principles we have thus briefly stated were 
beautifully and impressively illustrated in the life 
and death of our deceased friend. In life he at- 
tended to life's great duties, and secured life's 
grand interests. We think, therefore, that his 
history and character and death are worthy of 
our consideration. 

"When about twenty-six years of age, while in 
a Methodist meeting one evening, he fully de- 
termined, promptly, to give his heart to God and 
become a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He went home with this resolve fixed in his mind 
and heart, retired to a private room, humbled 
himself before God, and implored mercy in the 
name of Christ. Before the break of day his 
earnest, penitent prayers were heard, and he re- 
joiced in the salvation of divine grace. As soon 
as felt he was reconciled to God, he felt he must 
be reconciled to all his fellow-men. At this time, 
one who had been a dear friend had become an 
imbittered enemy. Mr. Wright started imme- 
diately for his residence. Just as the sun was 
rising in beauty, and with the Sun of Righteous- 
ness beaming brightly on his soul, he reached the 
door of his enemy. The man himself opened the 
door. Mr. Wright feelingly stated to him that 
during the past night he had obtained reconcilia- 
tion with God, and had come to be reconciled to 



380 LAST WORDS AND 

him. They fell into each other's arms, and love 
and friendship were restored. 

When the announcement was made to him that 
his disease might terminate fatally he received 
the information calmly and with fortitude. Re- 
ierring to his spiritual state he said, "I am utter 
helplessness. I have no strength to subdue or 
conquer my own will in this great matter of life 
and death ; but I have an almighty Savior, and he 
is my advocate. In the Lord is my strength 
and righteousness. Jesus can give me the strength 
I need and the grace I need. He does not desire 
that I should climb this mountain, but will carry 
me up in his arms." On the first Sabbath in Jan- 
uary a few Christian friends assembled in his 
room and united with him in the sacrament of 
the Lord's-supper. During the services he desir- 
ed them to sing the hymn commencing, 

" Rock of Ages, cleft for me," 
and the one commencing, 

" Lord, I am thine, entirely thine." 
While they were singing the words, 1 

" Thy grace can full assistance lend, 
And on that grace I dare depend," 

he looked up, beckoned his wife to him, and said, 
"He floods my soul with light and love. The 
great transaction's done. Jesus is mine, and I 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 381 

am his." From that hour until his death he had 
not a doubt of his salvation. An infidel friend 
was present at one time conversing with him on 
the subject of Christianity, and expressing to him 
his disbelief in the claims of the Holy Scriptures. 
The governor, smiting upon his breast, said to 
him, with great emotion, "I know I am right. I 
w r ould not take ten thousands worlds for this in- 
ward consciousness of eternal life through Jesus 
Christ. .Nothing can destroy my faith in God." 
To the young ministers who visited him he said, 
"Preach Christ, and only Christ." To Dr. Jacoby 
he said, "I am not excited. I am very quiet; but 
I am very happy. I have \he full assurance of 
heaven and glory." 

Rev. Dr. Thompson called on him and inquired 
how he felt in regard to the change of worlds. 
He replied, "I have no more fear than if I were 
going to my father's house. I have no fear of 
death." At another time he said, "I feel my 
union with Christ is perfect. My faith takes 
hold of him as with hooks of steel. 

We feel our loss. We feel bereaved. And yet 
we can not but magnify the grace of God in him. 
"An honest man's the noblest work of God;" a 
true Christian the richest trophy of the cross of 
Christ; a glorified saint the greatest wonder in 
the universe. 



382 last words and 

Rev. William H. Fyffe, of the Cincinnati Con- 
ference, was born in Urban a, Champaign County, 
Ohio, January 26, 1814, and died May 19, 1863. 

On the 10th of May Brother Fyffe was attacked 
with paralysis. This attack was sudden but se- 
vere, and our brother expressed a conviction, from 
the commencement of it, that "the time of his de- 
parture was at hand." The faithful expressions 
by which he evinced his faith in God and hope of 
heaven during the days of his last illness would 
be a rich legacy to the church and his friends, if 
committed to print. These are some of them: 
Once, during a cessation of pain his palsied tongue 
was unloosed and he said, "God said, 'Let there 
be light,' and that was the highest manifestation 
of Deity to the outward world; but God in his 
book said, 'God is love/ and that is the sublimest 
manifestation of Deity to my poor soul. But I 
shall see the King in his beauty, and mine eyes 
shall behold the land that is very far off." 

Bishop Henry B. Bascom, D. D., was born in 
Hancock, New York, May 27, 1796. He united 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in western 
Pennsylvania, in 1811, and was licensed to preach 
and received on trial in the Ohio Conference in 
1813. He soon became famous as a pulpit orator. 
He was elected chaplain to congress in 1823. In 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 3S3 

1827 he was elected president of Madison College, 
Pennsylvania, which position he tilled until 1829, 
when he became the agent of the American Col- 
onization Society. He was elected in 1832 as pro- 
fessor of moral science, in Augusta College, Ken- 
tucky, and in 1842 he became the president of 
Transylvania University. He was a delegate to 
every General Conference from 1828 to 1814, and 
in 1845 he adhered to the Church South. He was 
editor of the Southern Quarterly from 1846 to 1850, 
when he was elected bishop at the G-eneral Con- 
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South 
at St. Louis. At one period he was perhaps the 
most popular pulpit orator in the United States. 
His sermons, though long, did not weary the peo- 
ple. They were evidently prepared with great 
care. As is often the case, in reading his sermons 
we miss the brilliancy and vivacity of the living 
speaker. He wrote the famous "protest of the 
minority/' in the General Conference of 1844, and 
the "report on organization" at the formation of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1845. 
He died at Louisville, Kentucky, September 8, 
1850. Bishop Bascom said to Dr. Stevenson, a 
short time before he died, ;, I am no better : but my 
only trust is in the Almighty's goodness.'' Again 
he said to a friend, "My confidence in God is firm 
and unshaken. " 



384 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. James Clark Bontecou was a native of 
New Haven, Conn., but early in life removed with 
his parents to Albany County, New York. He 
was converted at the age of fifteen, without min- 
isterial counsel or revival helps — alone with God. 
He had then, in 1818, never seen a Sabbath- 
school. No theological schools offered their help 
to him; yet he had a deep sense of his insufficien- 
cy for the work of the ministry, to which he felt 
himself called. His friends were chary of en- 
couragement. The voice of the Spirit alone said 
to him, "Go, thou, and preach the kingdom of 
God." He felt the call to be the itinerant minis- 
try. 

He was ordained deacon at Troy, in 1826, by 
Bishop Roberts, and joined the New York Con- 
ference in 1827. He was ordained elder by Bish- 
op Soule, at Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1831, 
being then a member of the New England Con- 
ference by a recent division of the former one. 

Perhaps his most notable work in the New 
England Conference was during his pastorate at 
Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, during 1835 and 
1836. He was one of the original members of 
Martha's Vine} T ard Camp-meeting Association, 
which was formed at that time. At its second 
meeting, in 18^6, he was superintendent of all its 
services, which were very successful. A religious 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. - 385 

interest was awakened throughout the island, and 
about fifty persons confessed obtaining Christ 
savingly. These Mr. Bontecou watched with 
a pastor's love, and observed most of them 
to die well. He visited the scene of that victory 
frequently since, and cherished till his death a 
warm interest in that powerful and popular camp- 
meeting association. 

He was transferred to the Ohio Conference in 
1840. Stationed at Circleville the next year, one 
of the best revivals known to Methodism in that 
vicinitv occurred. Between three hundred and 
four hundred persons joined the church, from 
among whom the Lord of the harvest sent forth 
a number of ministers, one of whom is Rev. 
Joseph H. Creighton. Brother Bontecou died at 
Xenia, Ohio, in 1876, in great peace. 

Dr. John R. Goodwix was born in Brookville, 
Indiana, July 15, 1820. His parents, Samuel and 
Elenor Goodwin, were among the earliest citizens 
of Brookville. He graduated at Greencastle, In- 
diana, in 1845, and after teaching one year in the 
Brookville Seminary he was, in July, 1846, mar- 
ried to Miss Rachel Goudy. 

Having read medicine with Dr. Rufus Hay- 
mond, of his native town, he graduated, in 1838, 
from the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, and 

15 



386 LAST WORDS AND 

with the exception of one year, which he spent in 
California, he continued the practice of his profes- 
sion until he entered the army in 1861. 

After returning to his farm near Brookville, he 
became cashier of the Brookville National Bank, 
and moved with his family to town. After that 
bank wound up, he opened, with his sou, the 
Brookville Bank, of which he was president at the 
time of his death. Such is the brief record of an 
active, useful life. To those who knew him but 
little need be said as to his character and worth. 
He was industrious, economical, prudent, knowing 
how to deal with men in all the walks of life. He 
was a liberal mau; and many a home was made 
glad by his quiet and unostentatious gifts. In 
whatever department of church- work he was 
needed, he was always found ready, faithful, and 
efficient. He was public-spirited, and a warm 
friend of the educational interests of the church, 
and at the time of his death was a trustee of In- 
diana Asbury University, to which institution he, 
by his will, left the handsome sum of ten thousand 
dollars. At the time of his death he was a mem- 
ber of the General Conference. 

In his domestic relations he was peculiarly hap- 
py. His home was his paradise, which he loved 
with a rare devotion. For nearly thirty-four 
years his faithful wife, though most of that time 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 387 

an invalid, stood by his side, a helpmeet indeed. 
Struck down suddenly by the hand of an assassin, 
his dying declaration was, "I have no preparation 
to make," and with words of forgiveness for his 
enemies, and love for those about him, he went 
joyfully through ; 'the valley and the shadow, fear- 
ing no evil." 

"Rev. Charles "Wesley Judd, late member of 
the India Conference, was born in Berkshire, 
Tioga County, Xew York, January 31, 1829, 
and died in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, February 
11, 1880. His father, Rev. Gaylord Judd, was 
long a devoted minister in the Genesee, Oneida, 
and Wyoming conferences. He lived to see three 
of his sons preaching the gospel in the church of 
his choice, and died while in the act of prayer in 
his own family. While Charles was quite young 
his father removed to Candor. There the son be- 
gan his religious and ministerial life. Soon after 
conversion, at the age of twelve, his thoughts 
were directed to the ministry. In 1857 he was 
admitted into full connection and ordained dea- 
con. In 1859, with his devoted wife, he join.- I , 
company of nine recruits to the mission-work in 
India. He was ordained elder at Lynn. Ma- 
Bishop Ames, and sailed April 11, 1859, by way 
of Cape of Good Hope and Calcutta. The com- 



388 LAST WORDS AND 

pany reported at Lucknow, August 21, for the 
first annual meeting of the India Mission. Bro. 
Judd was stationed at Moradabad till 1864, when 
the India Mission Conference being organized, he 
was appointed presiding elder ot Lucknow Dis- 
trict. In the conference of 1869 he was president, 
and after ten years' hard labor he was made su- 
pernumerary, and returned with his w T ife to 
America for needed rest and recuperation. Here 
he was abundant in labors, preaching and deliver- 
ing missionary addresses. Iu 1871 he and Sister 
Judd, leaving a loved daughter with friends, again 
sailed for India. In 1872-3 he was stationed in 
Bareilly, and in 1874-5 in STynee Tal. In 1876-8 
he served as presiding elder of Kumoan District. 
In 1879 the failiug health of Sister Judd necessi- 
tated a return to America. They arrived in April, 
spent the summer in Candor, and in September 
removed to Binghampton. Brother Judd was 
most Constant in labors. February 7th he left 
home, after watching with his family, nearly all 
of w r hom were ill, as well as himself, to fill an en- 
gagement with the pastor of Ross-Street Church, 
Wilkesbarre. During the night he became worse, 
and was taken on Sunday morning to the home of 
his old friend, Brother Burnett. The malaria of 
India pervaded his whole system, and the fever 
could not be arrested. He exhibited now his 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 389 

wonted interest in the salvation of those about 
him, and especially for those whose kindness he 
experienced. On Tuesday night his symptoms 
became worse, and soon after midnight he sunk 
into unconsciousness, from which only for a mo- 
ment was he aroused. He died early Wednesday 
morning, and entered into rest. 

Rev. Joseph Rusleng. "All is clear; all is 
clear. I am not dying." 

Rev. R. Miller was born in Maryland, August 
17, 1767. His parents were of English extrac- 
tion. When he was ten years old his father died 
a soldier in the American revolutionary army. 
He moved to Champaign County, Ohio, in 1812, 
where he died in peace. In relating his experience 
he states that the Spirit of God began to strive 
with him at eight years of age. His parents were 
high -church, and his prejudices against the Meth- 
odists were powerful and strongly rooted ; for he 
had been taught to believe that they were the 
false prophets, and that they deceived the world. 
But after some time he was persuaded to hear 
them himself, after which his prejudices forsook 
him. He said they preached the truth, for it was 
carried home to his heart with power. From this 
time he became a frequent hearer of these men; 
and the gospel so won upon his heart that in Feb- 



390 LAST WORDS AND 

ruary, 1788, he joined the Methodists. In 1801 
he was licensed as a local preacher; and in 1809 
he was ordained deacon, at Cincinnati, by the 
venerable Asbury. In 1823 he was ordained elder 
by Bishop Roberts, and continued his services as 
a useful and most faithful laborer in the church 
of Christ until the 19th day of October, 1835, 
when he fell from the walls of Zion, with the 
trumpet in his hand. The estimation of his labor 
as a local preacher was that he preached one hun- 
dred sermons every year, besides more than as 
many exhortations and attendance on prayer- 
meetings; that he rode one thousand miles, found 
bis own horse, and never received anything for 
his labors, but was among the most liberal of the 
flock to maintain and support the gospei with his 
own purse. 

Brother Miller was a man of a strong, energetic 
mind, well acquainted with human nature, pow- 
erful in the pulpit. When his soul was filled with 
a sense of his divine Master and the eloquence of 
the Holy Spirit, his words fell as sweet as the 
honey-dew on the expanding flowers. But when 
his theme was God's law he seemed to stand on 
Sinai ; and while he spoke of the justness of God's 
law and the awful damnation of the finally im- 
penitent, it was awful ! Sinners fell and cried to 
God for mercy; and many, very many, will bless 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 391 

God in eternity that Robert Miller was called and 
set as a watchman on the walls of Zion. He 
made no compromise with sin or unrighteousness. 
He spoke to be understood. 

On the Thursday before the Sabbath on which 
he died, he called his family all together, and told 
them he had a few things to say to them before 
his departure.- 1. "Keep peace among yourselves. 
I am going to leave you all, and after I am gone I 
want no disputing or family contention. I have 
made a will, in which I have divided my property 
among you, as equally as I could, without any 
partiality. Now, if after I am dead and gone, you 
should not all be satisfied, throw it in the fire, and 
let the statute of the state make the division, but 
have no dispute or hard feelings." One of his 
sons said, "Father, we have always lived in peace 
as a family." "Yes," said the dying father, "but 
I have been among you ; now I am going to leave 
you, and circumstances may very much alter your 
conduct toward each other." 2. To support the 
gospel of Jesus Christ by giving their money to 
feed and clothe its ministers and to send it to bar- 
barous distant climes, and to give their influence 
to its precepts, by a holy, upright life and a faith- 
ful attendance upon the house and worship of 
God and his ordinances ; "for," said he, "I do not 
know where I and you, and we all might have 



392 LAST WORDS AND 

been, but for the blessed gospel and its power. It 
has done great things for me, and for us as a 
family. I have enjoyed its blessing for more than 
forty years ; and now, blessed be God, it supports 
me in death, and makes my soul triumphant on 
the bank of Jordan. Mind what I say. I have 
nothing more to add, only this, meet me in heaven." 
They had prayer by a brother present, and he 
rested peacefully through the night. Early the 
next morning he said to his son Thomas, "Where 
is Nelson? Call him in to me. I forgot one 
thing yesterday, and I now want to say it to him." 
Nelson came in, and his father took him by the 
hand and said, "I had forgotten one thing, and 
that I must leave with you. The other children 
will go to their own homes, but you are to stay 
here and enter into my place, to take care of your 
mother. You are to dwell under this roof. My 
old family altar I leave in your care. My son, I 
wish it kept up, morning and evening, as it has 
been, not to go out so long as one of you live un- 
der this roof. This is my last request. Now I 
have finished all my earthly concerns." He re- 
mained peacefully waiting, until the Sabbath of 
the Lord, and then went from the church below 
to the church above. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 393 

Rev. Enoch George Wood, D. D., son of Wil- 
liam and Mary Wood, was born in Ross County, 
January 26, 1806, and died at his residence, at 
Moore's Hill, Indiana, June 25, 1880, aged seven- 
ty-four years. His brother, Rev. Aaron Wood, 
D. D., furnishes the following narrative : 

"His educational advantages were not good ; and 
at the age of seventeen he was apprenticed for 
four years, at Urbana, to learn the saddler-trade. 
While on the home farm, though two older broth- 
ers and one younger were professors of religion 
and members of the church, he did not take up 
any cross. Living in the family of a pious class- 
leader, John Hamilton, he commenced a deter- 
mined course of religious life. He attended class, 
and was appointed a leader while a minor and an 
apprentice. He was licensed to exhort by Rev. 
John F. Wright. 

"In February, 1827, he went to Bloomington, 
Indiana, and was licensed to preach by Rev. James 
Armstrong, and was employed as junior preacher 
until conference. In September, 1827, he was re- 
ceived on trial in the Illinois Conference, since 
which his life has been devoted to the work of the 
itinerant ministry in the State of Indiana. 

"In view of his life-work it is to be regretted 
that the four years were not spent in a better 
school than the saddler-shop. The only fruit of 



394 LAST WORDS AND 

his skill in the trade was the saddle on which he 
rode to his first circuit, where his first sermon was 
the instrument of the awakening and conversion 
of a soul. His personal religious character was 
unique throughout, consisting more of ethics and 
will than afflatus and unction. He studied more 
to dare and to do, to work and. to teach, than to 
enjoy or to endure. Chastisement was grievous, 
even when in love from God. But his work is 
done. His sufferings are over. He rests, and we 
sorrow not as those who have no hope. 

"How inexplicable the ways of Providence with 
a family? We were five brothers, in a devout 
Methodist family of parents and grandparents, 
with ample shelter, food, raiment, and employment. 
I say devout, for in two rooms and two languages 
there was reading of the Scriptures and singing 
hymns and prayer in that old family home. Here 
often came the holy men of the church to tarry 
for a night — Asbury, Newcomer, Roberts, Sale, 
Bigelow, and Strange. The Judge of our hearts 
only knows how much of human ambition was 
excited in our young minds by veneration of those 
great lights of the church. Yet from some cause 
all five were Methodist preachers, and four itin- 
erants for life. One who had the best education 
had a short race, and at the end of three years 
was called away to rest. Another has gone of 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 395 

eight children, while three remain, two older and 
one younger, and three sisters." 

Rev. Alfred M. Lorrain, of the Cincinnati 
Annual Conference, was born in Chestertown, 
Kent County, Maryland, March 15, 1791. When 
quite young he moved with his father's family to 
Petersburg, Virginia. In 1804, at the age of 
thirteen, he became a sailor, in which capacity he 
served seven years. In 1813 or 1814 he joined 
the Petersburg company of twelve months' volun- 
teers, and served in the north-west, under General 
Harrison. He helped construct Fort Meigs, and 
when it was besieged by the British and Indians, 
bore a conspicuous part in its defense, participating 
in the bayonet- charge made upon the enemy out- 
side of the fort. In 1817, by invitation, he ac- 
companied his pious mother and some Methodist 
ladies to a Methodist camp-meeting. When 
returning, God converted him. Soon after his 
conversion he went to New Orleans, and was 
one of four composing the first Methodist class 
organized in that city. He had not been long in 
"New Orleans when he was, by President Madison, 
appointed receiver of public moneys for the lands 
of the United States in the eastern district of 
Louisiana. 

He was licensed to preach by Bishop M'Ken- 



396 LAST WORDS AND 

dree in the city of New Orleans, in 1818. In 
1823 Bishop M'Kendree visited Xenia,and formed 
the first Sabbath-school organized in the place, 
appointing Brother Lorrain superintendent. He 
was ordained deacon by Bishop M'Kendree, Sep- 
tember 23, 1823. 

At the conference held in Springfield, in Sep- 
tember, 1861, he was granted a superannuated 
relation, the conference passing the following res- 
olutions 

Resolved, 1 . That we hope Brother Lorrain will 
be able and will be disposed to use his facile pen 
to enrich the columns of our periodical literature; 
and we most heartily commend him to our editors 
as eminently worthy of being employed as a reg- 
ular contributor with a liberal compensation. 

3. That we respectfully request our highly- 
esteemed and greatly-beloved fellow-laborer, Rev. 
A. M. Lorrain, to prepare for publication his own 
biography. 

In 1862 he prepared and published "The Helm, 
the Sword, and the Cross." Early in the fall of 
1862 it was evident that his strength was failing. 
About the middle of the winter he was attacked 
with dropsy in the chest, and at times endured 
intense physical suffering. In a conversation with 
the writer and S. S. Austin he said he did not 
know why he should be spared longer, especially 
as his work was done, but that he was willing to 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 397 

live or die, and that the gospel he had preached 
for more than forty years now supported hirn 
while nearing the spirit- world. It was my priv- 
ilege to visit him frequently, "both by day aud by 
night, during his severe physical suffering. He 
was never known to murmur. Once, after I had 
knelt in prayer at his request, he said, "Oh, 
how much good that does me ! Prayer to and 
faith in Christ is my only hope of salvation." 
To Rev. George H. Dart he said, I now see the 
headlands of glory." As he drew near the river 
of death he was asked, "'Has this world any at- 
traction now?" To which he replied, "Xone; it 
looks like a mere speck." 

Rev. Adam Poe. D. D.. was born in Columbia 
Couuty, Ohio. January 21, 1804, and died in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, June 26, 1868. In early life he 
joined the Presbyterian Church; but finding that 
he could not believe in the doctrine of election 
aud reprobation he united with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in 1827. and was admitted into 
the Ohio Conference. Of his ministerial life, 
which was one of great usefulness, seven years 
were spent on circuits, six years on stations, and 
ten as years as presiding elder. He was elected 
assistant book-agent at Cincinnati, and served 
eight years in that relation, after which he served 



808 LAST WORDS AND 

eight years as principal agent. He was a holy 
man of God and an eloquent and powerful preach- 
er; and his genial nature, extensive travel, and 
faculty of narration rendered him a most agreea- 
ble companion. He took a deep interest in the 
cause of education ; and, as Bishop Clark said at 
his funeral, "He may almost be said to be the 
founder of the Ohio Wesley an University, at Del- 
aware." He was an active member of the Board 
of Trustees of that institution until his death. 

He was highly esteemed and greatly beloved by 
his brethren in the ministry, and was elected sev- 
en times, consecutively, to the General Conference. 
For more than twenty years previous to his death 
he suffered much from an injury to his leg, w T hich 
affected the bone. But he was loving, cheerful, 
patient, and devoted to the last. The end of such 
a life was calm and peaceful and beautiful. 

Rev. Elijah H. Field was born in Sharon, 
Vermont, October 3, 1796, and came to Ohio in 
1820. He was converted and united with the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in 1821, and in the 
same year was licensed to exhort. He was sub- 
sequently licensed to preach, and was admitted 
into the Ohio Conference in 1821. lie was mar- 
ried to Miss Ann Taylor, June 8, 1828, by Rev. 
William Simmons. From the time of his admis- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 399 

sion into the Ohio Conference until 1866, a period 
of forty -two years, he was an active, laborious, 
and successful traveling preacher. 

About three months before his death, somewhat 
unaccountably, the weary wheels of life began to 
revolve slowly. Xo clearly-marked disease was 
discoverable, but only a general prostration of 
strength and vitality. In a few weeks he rallied 
a little, and for a time was able to walk about the 
house, though he did not regain his former 
strength. About ten days prior to his death he 
was again prostrated, and continued to grow 
weaker until October 1, 1878, when he sweetly 
fell asleep in Jesus. 

Brother Field was a man of marked intelligence. 
In science and literature he was exact and critical. 
On all subjects which interest intelligent men he 
was a close and original thinker. In theology 
and philosophy he called no man Master: but 
whatever the Bible taught, — the Bible interpreted 
by that reason with which the Creator had en- 
dowed him, — that he received implicitly as the 
truth of God. To that authority he bowed, and 
upon that Rock he built his hopes of eternal life. 
Just before he died he was asked, "Is Jesus still 
precious?"' To which he promptly replied, "Yes." 
This was the last distinct utterance that was heard 
from his lips on earth. 



400 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Solomon Vonnieda was born in Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1809. In early 
life he was a miller, and carried on that business 
until he began preaching. In 1837 he was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Fry. He was converted in 
1844, and entered the ministry of the United 
Brethren Church. He labored in this capacity 
nine years; and in 1853 he was elected, by the 
General Conference, publishing agent of the Tele- 
scope office, then located in Circleville, Ohio. He 
was instructed to remove the establishment to 
Dayton, Ohio, which he did, and remained agent 
about four years. In 1859 he was appointed ed- 
itor of the Children's Friend and the German 
church-paper, published at the United Brethren 
Printing Establishment, and conducted them very 
successfully ten years. For more than a dozen 
years previous to his death he was book-keeper 
of the printing-house; and no mistakes have ever 
been discovered in his books. While I am sure 
his name has been recorded in heaven, it gives me 
pleasure to record it on earth, among the list of 
worthies in my "Last Words and Old-Time Mem- 
ories." From personal knowledge and an intimate 
acquaintance of twenty-seven years, the author 
can truthfully say that he was a high-minded, hon- 
orable Christian gentleman, of quiet, unobtrusive 
manners. He died peacefully, July 22, 1880. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 401 

Bishop Thomas A. Morris was born in Charles- 
ton, West Va., April 28, 1794, and died September 
2, 1874, at "Home Lodge," in Springfield, Ohio. 
He was licensed to preach April 2, 1814, and in 
1816 he was admitted into the Ohio Conference. 
In 1824 he was transferred to the Kentucky Con- 
ference, and in 1826 to the Ohio Conference. 

After being several times stationed in Cincin- 
nati, he was appointed presiding elder of the Cin- 
cinnati District in 1833, and in 1834 was elected 
editor of the Western Christian Advocate. In 1836 
he was elected bishop. He was the senior in of- 
fice after the death of Bishop Waugh, in 1858. 
A3 a preacher he was chaste, sincere, useful, and 
at times eloquent. As bishop he was true, faith- 
ful, considerate, and condescending to the humblest 
of his brethren as a presiding officer. An excel- 
lent biography, written by Rev. J. F. Marlay, has 
been published by the Methodist Book Concern, 
at Cincinnati. He died in great peace. 

Rev. Uriah Heath was born near Xenia, Ohio, 
April 11, 1809, and was "born again" when about 
thirteen years of age, and then united with the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Diligent in the cult- 
ure of his heart, and solicitous for the salvation of 
others, his spiritual development, the indications 
of Providence, the calls of the Holy Spirit, and 



402 LAST WORDS AND 

the deep convictions of his own mind, all con- 
curred in pointing out the Christian ministry as 
the grand work of his life. Accordingly, in 'the 
fall of 1835 he entered the intinerant ministry of 
the Ohio Conference. 

Brother Heath was a man of one work ; and 
the varied and responsible posts of duty which he 
occupied during a period of twenty-seven years 
distinguished him as a "workman that needed 
not to he ashamed." He traveled many circuits, 
filled stations, had charge as presiding elder of 
several districts, was once a member of the Gen- 
eral Conference, and acted as agent for the Worth- 
ington Female Seminary, the Ohio Wesleyan 
University, and the Wilberforce University. 

In all those diversified fields of duty to which 
Brother Heath was appointed by the authorities 
of the church, he labored with great zeal and ef- 
ficiency. As a minister of Christ he pre-eminent- 
ly exemplified the apostolic injunction, "Preach 
the word ; be instant in season, out of season ; re- 
prove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuflering and 
doctrine." Characteristic of the man, his last 
Sabbath was employed in the service of the Mas- 
ter, preaching twice, on the Monday following 
traveling twelve miles and preaching a funeral 
sermon, in the evening attending an official meet- 
ing of his charge, and then, after a few days ill- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 403 

ness, on Friday, March 28, 1862, in the arms of 
his beloved companion, and amid the tears and 
affectionate manifestations of his children and 
friends, he calmly fell asleep in Jesus. 

Brother Heath was an able minister, a faithful 
pastor of the flock of Christ, and his life was a noble 
lesson of Christian and ministerial fidelity. He 
exchanged earth for heaven, and now lives amid 
the goodly company of his co-laborers who had 
gone before. 



404 LAST WORDS AND 

IN THE HOSPITAL. 

"11 NAME DEARER THAN MOTHER." 

A venerable Quaker lady, Mrs. Comstock, who 
for three years traveled our land during the late 
war, visiting hospitals, to alleviate the sufferings 
of our wounded and dying soldiers. In the hos- 
pital at Nashville she approached a youth who 
in his delirium talked of-* nothing but the battle- 
field. The attendant told her it was of no use to 
talk to him about religion, as nothing intelligent 
could be gathered from his ravings. His knap- 
sack and clothing were all lost, and he could not 
tell to what regiment he belonged. The Quaker 
lady replied, " There is a name that will 
sometimes recall the wandering mind and give 
peace and comfort to the dying when even a 
"mother's tender voice" has failed, and stooping 
down gently whispered in his ear, 
"Jesus can make a dying-bed 

Feel soft as downy pillows are; 
While on his breast I lean my head, 

And breathe my life out sweetly there." 

When the youth opened his eyes and exclaimed, 
"Mother, I knew you would come," and closed 
them again. She repeated another stanza of this 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 405 

beautiful hymn, when he looked up into her face 

and calmly said, "Mother, I am going to Jesus," 

and sunk back in the quiet sleep of death. "One 

name dearer than mother." 

Another case was that of a little drummer-boy, 

who had recognized no one since his fall, and gave 

little evidence of consciousness. When very near 

his end this good woman whispered in his ear, 

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee ; 
Let the water and the blood, 
From thy wounded side that flowed, 
Be of sin the double cure, 
Save from guilt and make me pure." 

When the countenance of the brave youth bright- 
ened up, he followed with the second verse of 
that immortal song, — 

"Could my tears forever flow, 
Could my zeal no languor know ; 
These for sin could not atone, 
Thou must save and thou alone. 
In my hand no price I bring, 
Simply to thy cross I cling" — 

Saying his mother had taught him that hymn. 
He had often sung it in Sabbath-school. After a 
few minutes' conversation he expressed a hope in 
Jesus, and fell asleep to wake no more to earthly 
scenes. Another, when dying, said, "Tell my 
commander they all know how a Christian soldier 
should live. I wish they were here to see a Chris- 
tian soldier die." 



40 G LAST WORDS AND 



Life-Sketch of the Rev. John Meek. 



ONE OF THE EARLY PIONEER MINISTERS OF THE WEST. 



Rev. John Meek, son of Isaac and Mary Meek, was born on 
Short Creek, in the State of Virginia, on the 7th day of July, 
A. D., 1781. In early life he removed with his father's family 
to Ohio, and settled near Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson County. 

His parents were Methodists of the primitive stamp ; and 
though educational advantages were very limited, he received 
from them that sort of training that fitted him for the life of toil 
and self-sacrifice of a pioneer itinerant Methodist preacher. 

Father Meek, as he was familiarly called, joined the Meth- 
odist Church when but nine years of age, and from that time 
until his death maintained unfalteringly the character of a 
Christian. 

He was very early in life impressed with a conviction that 
he was divinely called to the ministry, and yielding with fear 
and trembling to this conviction he was, in his nineteenth 
year, licensed to preach, and in his twenty-second year, in Sep- 
tember, 1803, appointed to the Scioto Circuit, and made his 
way to Chillicothe in company with Rev. William Burk, his 
presiding elder, a minister of Christ dearly loved by Mr. Meek ; 
and by him he was introduced to Governor Tiffen, who was a 
local preacher. Rev. William Patterson was preacher in 
charge, of whom Mr. Meek says : "He was a thoroughgoing, 
sound-hearted, holy man of God." 

This first circuit of Mr. Meek's is thus described by himself: 
"The extreme south-west point was a few miles from where 
the town of Ripley now stands ; then by Bryan's on Three- 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 407 

Mile Creek to George Roger's, near the mouth of Cabin Creek ; 
then to Manchester, in Adams County, Ohio ; then to Peter- 
son's, on Ohio Brush Creek, at Joseph Moore's. From Moore's 
I changed my course toward the mouth of the Scioto River, 
and by an Indian trail across the mountains to the mouth of 
Turkey Creek ; then up the Scioto River to the Pee-pee Prairie 
at Snowden Sargent's ; then to Thomas Foster's, at the Big 
Bottoms; from Foster's to Chillicothe; from Chillicothe to 
Bowdle's, at Hay Run ; then to White Brown's on Deer Creek ; 
from there to Westfall, on the Scioto River ; then to Walnut 
Creek through the wilderness to old Bro. Stevenson's on Big 
Belly; then to John Bobbin's, on Buckskin Creek; then to 
Haire's, at the falls of Paint Creek ; then to Braugher's Tavern; 
from there over logs and through brush by a blind Indian 
trail to Benjamin Grace's, near New Market, in Highland Co.; 
then to Odell's, thirty miles distant, and from Odell's to the 
the place of beginning— Ripley." 

This is the outline of Brother Meek's first circuit ; and to a 
modern preacher it looks really formidable, and compares fa- 
vorably as to extent of territory with the Cincinnati Annual 
Conference at the present day. 

Of this second field of labor Mr. Meek says : "The begin- 
ning-point was Cincinnati. Here we preached in an old, yellow 
frame house; from Cincinnati to Bethel and Williamsburgh; 
then to Philip Gatch's, and up to Xenia, and then to Mr. 
Bougge's, on the Little Miami, near Yellow Springs; from 
that point, by Indian trails, to where Urbana now stands; 
from there down the Mad River to Dayton, which was then 
composed of a few buildings through the rich bottoms — our 
place of worship there was a one-story log-house ; from Day- 
ton, by the way of Lebanon and Reading, along Mill Creek to 
Cincinnati." 

The next year Brother Meek was present at the formation of 
the Western Conference, and was appointed to the Miami Cir- 
cuit, including what is now the city of Cincinnati, and as he 
has often told the writer, held the first Methodist love-feast 
ever held in the city of Cincinnati. This circuit compared fa- 
vorably with his first in extent of territory. 

In 1805 Mr. Meek was appointed to Hock Hocking Circuit, 
with the Rev. James Quinn as senior preacher. Here his health 



408 LAST WORDS AND 

failed, and he returned to the East, and Rev. Peter Cartright, 
of whom everybody has heard, was taken from Scioto Circuit 
and assigned to the place thus made vacant. 

Before Mr. Meek returned again to Ohio, he was married to 
Miss Ann Jones, daughter of John and Ann Jones, and sister 
of Rev. Greenbury R. Jones; and he found in her a clear-head- 
ed woman of God, who, appreciating fully the position she oc- 
cupied as the wife of an itinerant Methodist preacher, laid upon 
the altar, and through all her toil and cares enjoyed full com- 
munion with God, glorying in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. She died in triumph in February, 1845. 

Mr. Meek was ordained deacon in October, 1805. His certifi- 
cate is dated October 3, 1805, and signed by Richard Whatcoat. 
In March, 1810, he was ordained elder. His certificate of ordi- 
nation is dated March 16, 1810, and signed by William McKen- 
dree. These certificates now lie before me, and are very un- 
pretentious-looking documents, of tough, coarse paper, in size 
about three and one half inches by five inches. 

The sainted McKendree was afterward entertained at the 
house of Mr. Meek, after his return to Ohio ; and a son, Wil- 
liam McKendree Meek, was named for and baptized by the 
venerable McKendree. This little fellow is now residing at 
Hillsborough, and is known generally to the people in south- 
ern Ohio as Hon. Judge William Meek, an active member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church and an honor to his noble 
pioneer father. He was the alternate lay delegate from the 
Cincinnati Conference in 1880. 

Mr. Meek was a man of fine presence and proportions, noble 
bearing, unflinching courage, and polished manners. He was 
intellectually a strong man, and ever ready to defend the doc- 
trines and policy of the church of his choice. And it was said 
of him by one who, though not a member of his church, had 
often heard him preach, that when he made a statement of a 
doctrine or enunciated a principle, backed by such proofs as he 
would draw from God's word, you might set it down as indis- 
putable. 

He was a camp-meeting preacher of wonderful power. His 
very fine voice, clear as a bell, rang out quite a distance. His 
sermons upon the doctrine of a general judgment, of future re- 
wards and punishments,— his favorite subjects,— were many 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 409 

times marvels of eloquence, often stirring his hearers to such a 
degree that in listening to his portrayal of the misery that 
awaited the finally impenitent they would cry out with terror 
and when by this earnest preacher they were pointed to the only 
way of escape would with streaming eyes and outstretched 
hands plead for mercy as a man pleads for his life. 

I never shall forget a sermon of this character which I heard 
him preach more than forty-five years ago, at the "old camp- 
ing-ground," in Adams County, Ohio, from these words, "He 
that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that 
judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall 
judge him in the last day." (John xii. 48.) It would be im- 
possible to describe the scene at the close of that eloquent 
effort. I felt that I was fully compensated for a long and dusty 
ride, even to hear him read the opening hymn commencing, 

" That awful day will surely come, 
The appointed hour makes haste, 
When I must stand before my Judge, 
And pass the solemn test." 

Many of the old pioneer ministers were not only good sing- 
ers, but knew how to read an opening hymn with wonderful 
effect. And then the prayers that followed brought heaven 
and earth close together, and opened the heart for the reception 
of the good seed of the kingdom— precious seasons in the wil- 
derness, never to be forgotten. 

Mr. Meek was noted for his accurate knowledge of the Script- 
ures, and was always ready to correct an inaccurate quotation, 
either from the pulpit or in conversation. 

He was always prompt and faithful in meeting his engage 
ments, making it a point of honor to fill his appointments to 
preach at any sacrifice, and sometimes answered for others less 
careful on this point. 

He understood well the desirable secret of administering re- 
proof so as to gain his point without giving offense. An in- 
stance of this kind I will furnish the reader. His brother-in- 
law, Rev. Greensbury, R. Jones, at the time referred to was 
living within the bounds of my circuit, not far from the resi- 
dence of Father Meek. He was unable to preach at this time, 
owing to an affection of his throat. He was very popular in 



410 LAST WORDS AND 

the county, and allowed his name to go into the papers as a 
candidate for congress. Not long afterward Father Meek called 
to see him, and said, "Brother Jones, in preaching at a camp- 
meeting some years ago did you not remark in your sermon, 
when referring to 'political strife,' that if you should ever 
backslide so far as to lose sight of your high calling as a min- 
ister of Christ and descend to dabble in the muddy waters of 
politics, or come out as a candidate for office, you hoped there 
would be found in the ministry some brother firm and kind 
enough to come to you privately and admonish you of the 
peril to which you were exposed?" He instantly replied, 
"Yes, I do now remember of making just such a statement, 
although it had passed from my memory." "Well," said 
Brother Meek, "although I am unworthy, I am here to-day to 
perform for you the office of love you then sincerely desired, 
and to warn you of the danger to which your own soul is ex- 
posed, and the injury that will result to the church by your 
entering the arenea of politics." 

This brotherly reproof, so kindly given, touched the heart as 
well as the head of Brother Jones. It was indeed a beautiful 
illustration of the saying of King David, "Let the righteous 
smite me, and it shall be a kindness : let him reprove me ; it 
shall be an excellent oil which shall not break my head." 
The scene that followed was deeply affecting. Brother Jones 
the next week publicly withdrew his name through the coun- 
ty papers, and ever afterward expressed grateful thanks for the 
brotherly-kindness of that sweet-spirited and holy man of 
God, Father Meek. 

He was always in sentiment and feeling an antislavery man. 
He was earnest in support and advocacy of the plan of colo- 
nization, and the then best remedy for the evils of slavery. 
But his strong conviction, often expressed in words, was that 
the evil was of such magnitude, and so outraging to every sen- 
timent of humanity, as to call for the severest condemnation 
of the church, and, if not speedily abolished, the just judg- 
ment of God. 

Father Meek closed his sixtieth year in the ministry in Au- 
gust, 1860 ; and on the 30th day of December, 1860, at his home 
in Felicity, Clermont County, Ohio, he passed quietly away. 
His death was peaceful and quiet, signalized bj' an unshaken 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 411 

confidence in Christ— a fitting close to a long life of service in 
the ministry. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Tru- 
man Cowden, from II. Tim. i. 12. 

Thus passed away the old pioneer man of God, after a life 
full of labor and good deeds, to the enjoyment of a glorious 
immortality. 

If space would allow I should like to say much more about 
this beloved and highly-esteemed veteran. He resided in the 
bounds of my first circuit, in Adams County, Ohio ; and his 
house was a "quiet resting-place" for weary itinerants. He 
was, indeed, like a father to me ; and Sister Meek always treat- 
ed me with the greatest tenderness. He was the first preacher 
that heard me try to preach. I pleaded with him for more 
than one hour, with tears, to take my place. He said, "Mack, 
you will often have to preach before ministers, and you must 
begin to-day. This is your own appointment, and not mine. 
I am your best friend, and I will pray God to help you." The 
friendship and love that commenced that day will never cease 
on earth, and will ere long be renewed in heaven. 

" Stand fast, ye veterans of the cross; 
Though you may suffer pain and loss. 
Sweet gales of grace will waft you o'er 
The storms of life to Canaan's shore." 

Twenty-five years ago I had determined to write a book of 
"memoirs" of our ministers' wives, and Rev. Mr. Meek sent 
me a brief sketch of Mrs. E. Thompson, wife of Rev. William 
J. Thompson, for my contemplated work, and then closes his 
letter thus : 

Rev. M. P. Gaddis, sen. 

Dear Brother — I am still struggling for a home in 
heaven. I still love the pulpit, and I am often shouting-happy 
in that sacred place while preaching Christ and him crucified. 
May God bless you, and bring us to meet in heaven. 

John Meek* 
Felicity, Ohio, March 13, 1855. 



412 LAST WORDS AND 



THE OLD ITINERANTS. 



BY ft. ¥. WHITE. 



"But few of the old, itinerant Methodist preachers now survive, — those 
daring pioneers who first introduced Methodism among the early settlers, 
and proclaimed the name of Jesus in the rude cabins of the West." 

Where the far, imbrowned forests 

Slept in Nature's solitude— 
Where the sea, in angry surges, 

Shoreward lashed its foamy flood — 
On the banks of sweeping rivers, 

Rushing fiercely to the sea- 
There the noble old itinerant 

Raised the voice and bent the knee. 

By the lonely cabin hearth -stone, 

At the morning, evening hour, 
Voices joined in holy singing, 

Hearts of prayer in wondrous power ; 
In the forests, "God 's first temples." 

Where the anxious list'ners came, 
There the holy cross was lifted, 

Spreading Jesus' wondrous name. 

Onward still, and onward ever, 

Never falt'ring by the Avay ; 
'Mid the night of moral darknass, 

Faith descried the dawning day; 
Till, the glorious standard planted, 

Marshaled hosts its folds beneath, 
And the far-rung shout of vict'ry 

Was his passing, heavenward breath 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 413 

Where are they — the mighty heroes? 

Where are now the valiant few, 
That the stalwart, daring settlers 

To the lamb-like Jesus drew? 
Where the voice that shook the guilty, 

Like an aspen in the blast ? 
Where is now that holy vanguard, 

Looming giants of the past ? 

Some, with gallant, well-worn armor, 

Battle yet where swells the fight ; 
Some with patient hope are waiting 

For the angel-guarded flight ; 
Others with the Lord in glory, 

While their humble graves, unknown, 
Here and there a passer noteth — 

Where they fell , they lie alone ! 

Oh, the noble, faithful preachers, 

That have died and gone to God, 
Leaving foot-prints graven deeply 

Where their hallowed feet have trod ! 
In the realms of endless glory, 

Crowns will glitter round the throne, 
Gemmed with stars of their rejoicing, 

Whom the Lord shall ransomed own ! 



414 LAST WORDS AND 



The Missionary's Farewell. 



Rev. John Seys, whose last utterances are re- 
corded on page 306 and 307 of this book, crossed 
the ocean twenty times in fifty years, as a mis- 
sionary. 

The following lines were most affectionately inscribed to the 
Rev. G. Coles, in grateful remembrance of the piece lately ad- 
dressed by him to his obliged friend and brother. 

John Seys. 

Yes ! urge no more, I go — 

I'm gliding far and fast, 
I've shed that burning tear of woe, 

It's bitterness is past ! 
God's spirit in the ship will dwell, 
I feel that I can say, 'tis well. 

Adopted land, adieu ! 

No fatherland more dear, 
My home — my all — I leave in you — 

No home to heart so near. 
Brethren, kindred, friends, farewell ! 
Pray still that God may with me dwell. 

I leave your temples fair, 

Your altars where we've knelt, 
Where oft we've joined in social prayer, 

And holy fervor felt — 
I fly to press a heathen shore, 
And there the Christian's God adore. 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 415 

I go to tell of love, 

Of truth divine, of light, 
A Savior's wondrous grace to prove, 

And broken hearts delight ; 
To teach the dark, untutored mind, 
And tell them where a Christ to find. 

Farewell I let oceans roll, 

Let waves on waves surround, 
Let distance far as pole from pole 

Our utmost vision bound ; 
Let seasons change — and cheerless climes — 
And idol worship — savage crimes — 

Let scenes like these appear, 

While lov'd ones are afar, 
The heart that finds a Jesus there 

No change its peace can mar ; 
It looks to him — the Author— Guide 
Of faith, like gold, that's often tried. 

Then hinder not my flight, 

Wish me not to stay, 
I dare not such an errand slight — 

The Savior cries, "Away ! " 
We'll meet in spirit at the throne, 
And though apart, yet not alone. 

Yes ! hours, weeks, all are past, 

And home no more in view — 
Turn, turn my soul to joys that last, 

These faithfully pursue ! 
Farewell ! farewell ! we'll meet in bliss, 
In everlasting blessedness ! 

Ship Emperor, off Sandy Hook, 1:00 p. m., Dee. 12, 1838. 



416 LAST WORDS AND 



The Cloud of Witnesses Increasing. 



"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell" of oth- 
ers who "obtained a good report through faith." 

"Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud 
of witnesses, let us run with patience, looking unto Jesus." (Heb. xi. 32.) 

The volume of "Annual Minutes," published by Rev. John 
Dickens, in 1794, gave us the rise, progress, and increase of 
Methodists in America for twenty years. In the year 1773 the 
first Methodist Conference was held in America,— at Philadel- 
phia, — and consisted of ten traveling preachers, at which time 
there were eleven hundred members in the society. In 1813, 
forty years afterward, we see an astonishing increase of 678 
traveling preachers and 2,100 members. Likewise, we find 
that out of the 1,300 preachers admitted on trial one hundred 
and ten died in glorious triumph. It was a grand sight to see at 
that early day six or seven hundred faithful itinerants spread 
out from Maine to St. Marys and the Altamahaw,in the south- 
ern extremity of Georgia, and from the seaboard in the At- 
lantic states to Erie, Detroit, Michigan, Canada, Ohio, Ken- 
tucky, Wabash, Indiana, and Missouri in the West, and south- 
westward to the Mississippi, Upper and Lower Louisana, New 
Orleans, and the Tombeckbee settlements. 

"This first race of Methodist preachers were impelled by a 
zeal that knew no limit but that of their own earthly existence. 
While they expected the victories of the cross, they knew that 
but little awaited them save hard work, poor fare, and constant 
and severe trials. They returned annually to their conference 
gatherings, suspending active labors to look each other in the 
face, exchange friendly salutations, compare notes, report the 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 417 

state of the work among them, receive their appointments for 
the coming year, and then, uttering their hurried farewell, and 
mounting their houses, start off on a new campaign, sweep- 
ing over the plain, going through valleys, plunging into and 
fording rivers, climbing mountains, penetrating the forest, and 
opening new paths for the onward march of incoming laborers, 
whose numbers continual increasing, became at last a mighty 
host, made up of men of renown, of mark, and power,— men 
eminently fitted for the work and for the time." 

The religious characters and ideas of these veterans received 
their cast long before the date of the present century. They 
were the true representatives of Methodist preachers of the 
"Old School," — of those earnest, self-deny men of God who in 
the generation past were the pioneers of the cross in these 
lands. They were all aflame with holy zeal for the glory of 
God and the salvation of souls. They labored for immediate 
results, and were not satisfied unless souls were converted un- 
der every sermon. They laid their hands of faith on the 
"horns of the altar" and communed daily with God, as "friend 
with friend." "They were men who, as a class, filled the world 
with the fame of their achievements, and left a record behind 
them that will never be forgotten. And yet, as individuals, 
with but few exceptions they must fade from the memory of 
men and find immortality alone before the throne of God, 
where their works will follow them." 

It is but a fit tribute of respect due to the memory of the 
faithful servants of God (who are to be in "everlasting remem- 
brance") that we should make honorable mention of their 
names, and give public testimony of their pious and faithful 
service to God and his church, and by a record of their memo- 
ries show to the present and transmit to future generations 
some account of such characters among our ministers, as an. 
example for others to follow them as they have followed Christ. 

The men whose "last words" are herein recorded belonged 
to that highly-interesting class of gospel ministers to whom 
the church and the world are so deeply indebted. Their names 
27 



418 LAST WORDS AND 

are written in the journals of Methodist history on earth, and 
recorded in heaven. "If they were devoted as Methodists, they 
were more devoted as Christians; if they loved Methodism 
much, 'they loved Christ more.' " 

Since the introduction of Christianity into our world, there 
are no more illustrious and animating "testimonies" of its truth 
and power than has been evinced in the happy deaths of Meth- 
odist itinerant preachers. 

When suddenly seized by affliction, they were not alarmed, 
but peaceful, calm, and resigned. The grand doctrines of ex- 
perimental religion which they believed, preached, and lived, 
brought them abundant consolation in the close of their pil- 
grimage. Confident in the atonement, they rested on the "sure 
foundation," the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, and "sprinkled 
with the blood" and fully saved, they passed silently, quietly, 
or triumphantly from the land of shadows into the presence of 
God. 

Many of them died young. They had just buckled on the 
armOr; but the "mortal arrow that pierced the frame" was 
the summons from the field of battle to join the church above. 
"Many of them had strange presentiments that they were near- 
ing the end of their labors, that their life-work was abo,ut to 
close. The land of Beulah rose invitingly to the eye of their 
faith, and stray notes of melody from the 'bright beyond' min- 
gled as a sweet refrain with the soul's glad harmony." Sud- 
denly the "weary wheels stopped," and their departure from 
earth was as gentle as the dying away of the little wave reced- 
ing from the shore— like the last, pale smile of day as it lin- 
gers on the mountain-top, or the modest, gentle retiring of 
the "morning-star," into the deep, ethereal, resplendent glory 
of the day. 

Oh, how transcendent the moral beauty and sublimity of the 
last words and death-bed scenes as I have been permitted to 
record in this volume. They were grand and heroic men. "As 
the setting sun gilds the sky with rays of light and glory, so 
the remembrance of their lives, their devotion, their work, 



fe 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 419 

their purity of character, leaves a halo of glory about their 
memory that challenges our admiration." 

"Dying verbal testimonies" were not needed. Yet these, as 
we see, were not wanting. A blameless life assured us of their 
heavenly home and recompense. Many of these heroes 
of the race of first Methodist preachers, like Whitefield, 
"died silently," having so fully borne their testimony while liv- 
ing, a dying testimony was not required. Some are living to- 
day, as the "only link" in the sadly- broken chain in the min- 
istry that connects us with the venerated and illustrious fathers 
of the past, who were excellent models, worthy of imitation. 
With their armor on, wielding successfully the "sword of the 
Spirit," amid scenes of great usefulness, "they fell at their 
post ;" but like England's hero at Quebec, "they fell victori- 
ous." From the Bishops' Quadrennial address in 1876, at Bal- 
timore, we learn that from the year 1872, 73,674 of our members 
and 476 ministers died, making an aggregate death-roll of 
74,150 transferred to heaven. From the address at Cincinnati 
in 1880, we gather the following interesting facts : 

The statistics for 1875 show 10,923 traveling preachers, 12,881 
local preachers, and 1,580,559 members, including probationers. 
The statistics for 1879 show 14,636 traveling preachers, 12,475 
local preachers, and 1,700,302 members and probationers. This 
exhibit gives an increase in the four years of 713 traveling 
preachers, and 119,745 members, and a decrease of 406 local 
preachers. This general increase, though not not so large as 
during the preceding quadrennium, is nevertheless gratifying 
and encouraging to the church. We must also take into con- 
sideration that during that time there have died 512 traveling 
preachers, and 78,-520 members. These must be added to the 
increase of four years to show the actual number of members 
which had been received. While we have lost that number 
from the church militant, we rejoice that the church triumph- 
ant has gained, and the great mission of the church has been 
accomplished in so many precious souls, nearly all of whom 
have, as we have good reason to believe, died in peace. 

"The best of all, God is with us " 



420 LAST WORDS AND OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 

"Faith of our fathers! living still 
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword ; 

Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy 
Whene'er we hear that glorious word. 

Faith of our fathers! holy faith! 
We will be true to thee till death ! " 

Yes, we will be true— true to the faith of the church, and so 
true to the Head of the church ; and by this we hope to see the 
church rising in power and majesty in every community and 
neighborhood where God has planted it. We know that our 
ministry is thus true, and that in the ranks are brave and bold 
soldiers, who will never surrender or compromise with the 
world. So the work of God is sure to go on, and the church 
will grow in wisdom and power. But let every one that name, 
the name of Jesus be earnest and spiritual. I will now close 
in the beautiful lines of Bunyan : 

"Now, just as the gates were opened, and let in the men, I 
looked in after them, and behold, the city shone like the sun. 
The streets also were paved with gold, and in them walked 
many with crowns upon their heads and palms in their hands, 
and golden harps, to sing praises withal. There were also 
them that had wings, and they answered one another, saying, 
"Holy ! holy ! holy ! " is the Lord God of hosts. And after that 
they shut the door, which, when I had seen, I wished myself 
among them." Amen. 



OLD- TIME MEMORIES. 421 



BRIEF MENTION. 



"These all died in faith." (Hebrew xi. 13.) 



Eev. John McMahon, in his thirty-fifth year. 
"Mother, my voyage is safe." 

Key. John Con well, in the fifty-fourth year of 
his age. "Faith, hope, charity." 

Rev. Francis Williard was born in Fishkill, N. 
Y., January 8, 1794, and died August 25, 1839. 
"Soul stayed on God." 

Rev. Daniel Fraley was born in 1785, and died 
in Fekin, Illinois, September 19, 1838. "Going 
to Jesus, his everlasting home." 

Rev. Hooper Evans died August 1, 1837. 
"Freached Je3us." 

Rev. Thomas P. Owen was born in Ohio. He 
died November 13, 1839, in his twenty-fourth 
year. "No fear of death, for all is well.' 

Rev. Alexander Stemmons was born in Vir- 
ginia, July 6, 1799, and died in Knoxville, Illinois, 
in 1839. "Anna, do not weep for me. I am com- 
fortable. I have been ready for fifteen years." 



422 LAST WORDS AND 

Rev. Benjamin Barnes was born in Virginia, 
November 15, 1808, and died in Crawfordsville, 
Indiana, September 6, 1838. "Perfect love." 

Rev. Thomas Kincaid, a local preacher for more 
than thirty years, was born in Ireland, and died 
in Ohio in his fifty-first year. "Worshiped and 
adored in silent rapture." 

Rev. Henry Brown was born in Richmond, Va., 
in 1783, and died in Indiana, June, 1838. "Preach- 
ing Jesus on his death-bed." 

Rev. Spencer Hunter was born in Kentucky in 
1801, and died November, 1838. Shouting "Vic- 
tory." 

Rev. Nathaniel Reeder was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, in 1789, and died in Waynesburgh, Ohio, 
August 12, 1838. "He is precious! he is pre- 
cious!" 

Rev Thomas Griffith was born in Virginia, and 
died in Indiana in 1838. "Victory at last." 

Rev. James Harsha was born in Kentucky, and 
died in Danville, Illinois, March 24, 1839, in the 
thirty-third year of his age. Closing his own 
eyes he said, "Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant 
depart in peace." 

Rev. Samuel Howard died in Ohio, September 
28, 1838. After signing his will he shouted, 
"Glory to God!" 



OLD- TIME MEMORIES. 423 

Eev. George Hoffman was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, in 1775, and died in Ohio. "Divine grace tri- 
umphed." 

Rev. Charles T. Ramsey died in Batesville, Mis- 
souri, in 1838. "I feel that my work is done." 

Rev. Benjamin Curry was born November 23, 
1795, and died in South Carolina, October 3,1837. 
"Farewell, I am going home." 

Rev. John Pinnell was born October 27, 1788, 
in Virginia, and died February, 1812, in the 
twenty-ninth year of his age. "Sufficient grace. 
Happy, happy!" 

Rev. John W. Quick was born in 1795, and 
died April 2, 1836. All who knew him were con- 
strained to say, "John Quick is a Christian." 

Rev. Joseph Forbey died August 7, 1838, in 
Leer County, Florida, aged fifty-seven years. "I 
live in the perpetual enjoyment of a Savior's 
smiles." 

Rev. Erastus Felton was born in Otsego County, 
New York, January 28, 1798, and died June 25 
.1837. "Blessed be God, religion supports me 
now." 

Rev. Nathan Pendleton died in Warren County, 
Missouri, June 22, 1837. 

"Not a cloud doth arise to darken my skies, 
Or hide for a moment my Lord from my eyes." 



424 LAST WORDS AND 

Eev. Thomas Knight Howell was born in Ar- 
kansas, September 17, 1843, and died in Califor- 
nia, December 3, 1873. "Jesus is precious ! My 
race is almost run. I have followed Jesus faith- 
fully. 1 shall soon be in heaven." Listening, his 
ear caught the sound of heavenly choristers, and 
he cried, "Do you hear the singing of that band 
of angels?" 

Rev. William Cundiff died on Peoria Circuit, Il- 
linois, in 1839, exclaiming, "Glory to God in the 
highest!" 

Rev. Richard Bibb, twenty-four years a local 
preacher, died in Kentucky, January 25, 1839, 
aged eighty-seven years. The name of Rev. Mr. 
Bibb lives in Africa, and will live in the affections 
of the friends of humanity. 

Rev. Smith L. Robinson, of Indiana, died No- 
vember 20, 1836, in the thirtieth year of his age 
and the tenth of his ministry. "Oh, how short is 
time ! How much is to be done !" 

Rev. John Henninger died December 23, 1838, 
in the fifty-eighth year of his age. Awaking 
suddenly he cried out, "Oh, what have I seen ! 
Was I asleep or not? I saw thousands of beauti- 
ful things." Then turning to his children he said, 
"I saw your mother in heaven, and she was most 
beautiful." 



OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 425 

Rev. John Russel was born in east Tennessee, 
and died in Washington Territory, April 14, 1836, 
"Come, welcome Death ; I am prepared to go." 

Rev. William Barns was born in Kentucky, 
March 14, 1815, and died August 16, 1836. 

Rev. Thomas Robinson was born in North Car- 
olina. He emigrated to Kentucky in 1791, and 
died August 19, 1839. He was a holy and useful 
local preacher. His last words were, "Glory and 
honor! Peace, peace, peace. 

Rev. Joshua Painter, a local preacher, wa6 born 
in Virginia, in 1799, and died at Mechanicsburgh, 
Ohio, December 8, 1836. "My mind is perfectly 
calm." 

Rev. Thomas Silvey was born in Prince Wil- 
liam County, Virginia, and died in Fayette Coun- 
ty, Indiana, in the sixtieth year of his age. "I 
am now willing to risk my own salvation on the 
gospel that I have preached for more than thirty 
years." 

Rev. Richard Owings died at Leesburg, Vir- 
ginia, September — , 1787. He was one of the 
first local preachers on the continent. Though 
he had charge of a large family, he labored much 
in the word and doctrine, traveling for weeks and 
months in the back settlements in the infancy of 
the work. He was a man of honest heart, plain 



426 LAST WORDS AND OLD-TIME MEMORIES. 

address, good utterance, and sound judgment. 
He gave himself up to the work. 

Rev. John R. Minard was born February 10, 
1811, in Washington County, Indiana, and died 
October 19, 1865, in Cass County, Nebraska. He 
was licensed to preach in 1844, in Missouri. For 
twenty-one years he was a faithful minister of the 
gospel. When told by his physician he could do 
no more for him, he said, "I know whom I have 
believed. My work through grace is done. My 
dear children, I commenced a religions life in my 
youth, and if I had my life to live over I would 
rather be a humble Methodist preacher than to 
have all the riches and honor this world could 
give ; for I know the gospel I have preached to 
others is the power of God to the salvation of ev- 
ery one that believeth." 



CONTENTS 



p 
A 

Agard. Horace - 


AGB. 

7 
9 
10 
10 
11 
12 
14 
14 
14 
15 

15 
16 
IT 
17 
IT 
IS 
18 
IS 
19 
19 
20 
20 
21 
21 
22 
23 
23 
24 
24 
24 
25 
26 

1? 

2S 
29 
20 
30 
30 
31 
31 
32 
32 
33 
33 


FACiK. 

c 

Capers, William 3-i 


Clark, Davis W 

Crume. Moses 

Curry, H. M 

Crane. James Lyon 

Callauhan, George- 

Cooper, Benjamin 


35 


Alverson. John B 

Aikens, James .. - 

Adams. William- 

Askin. George 


36 
38 

38 
39 
40 


Amedon, Moses 


Culver, Avon L - 

Collins, John - 

Campbell, George A > 

Carpenter, Coles - 

Caldwell. Asbury 

Clark, Alexander 

Conner, Aaron „ 


41 

44 


Austin, James B 

B 
Bangs, Nathan 


45 
45 

46 
46 

47 


Bristow, James H 

Boehm. Henry 

Baer. John 


Crandall, Andrew J 

Corey, David _... 

Coles. George _ 

Christie. William Butt.- 

Crane, John 

Clark, Abner 


4S 
48 
49 
50 
52 
53 


Brown, William _R. ; 


Burlingame. C 


Chaplain, Jonathan E 

Comstoek, William 


54 


Blain, John D 

Bery. T. S 


Carson. Joseph - 

Cook, Valentine 


56 
56 




Chandler. William 

Conner, George J 

Cunningham, Nathaniel C... 

Corwine. Richard 

Cookman, Alfred 

D 

Dillon, John ^. .... 

Durbin, Johr* Price 

Dickens. John 

Duke. H. S 


57 
57 
58 
59 
61 

66 


Baker. Eri 

Bartine. David 

Brown. Olner Eldridge -... 

Beekley, William 

Bowdish, Leonard..... 

Blood, H. P 

Barr, George S .. .. 


Butler. Frederick B 

Balwin, Charles..... 


67 
69 
68 


Bibbens, Samuel 

Booker. Simon L .. ..... 

Beall. Isaac. 


Dnnforth. Calvin 

Donkersly, Richard.... _... 

Dixon, William 

Delay, Jacob m 


69 
69 
70 
71 


Bryan. James M 


Daugherty, George- 

Daushaday, Thomas 

Dobbins, Robert .... „ M ~~ 

Davisson, Daniel D 

E 

Elliott, Arthur W 

Eddy, Augustus 


71 
72 


Brown. David 

Baker, Tbomas 

Bangs, Stephen Beekman 

Brockunier. S. J 

Bruce, Philip .— 

Budd, Thorn ass 


HI 

73 

75 

75 



427 



428 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Elliott, James 76 

Eddy, Thomas Mear 77 

Ellsworth, William 1 80 

Edmonds, William 81 

Elliott, Simon 81 

Edgarton, Daniel 83 

Ebbert, Isaac 83 

Ellis, Thomas 84 

Emery, Richard 84 

'Jpmory, Robert , 85 

F 

Fowble, John Wesley 86 

Fox, Robert 87 

Fisk, Wilbur 87 

Fletcher, John 88 

Furlong, Henry 89 

Field, Hezekiah 89 

Ferree, John 89 

Fay. Ariel 90 

Field, Andrew C 91 

Foot, Solomon 92 

Fernandez, Henry S 93 

Ford, — Rev 94 

Foulks, William W 95 

Fuller, Daniel 95 

Finley, James W 96 

Foss, Cyrus » 96 

G 

Griffis, Daniel 97 

Gibbins, Thomas H 98 

Gibson, Tobias 100 

Guyer, John 100 

Guyer, James 100 

Gorsuch. Thomas 101 

George, Bishop 103 

Gatch, Philip 104 

Gurley, Leonard B 105 

Givens, Thomas J 107 

Gurley, William 107 

Gilbert, Samuel 108 

Green, Elihu 108 

Gaddis, William 109 

Gearing, Hiram 109 

Green. Henry F 110 

Griffith, Alfred 110 

Griffin, John Ill 

Garretson, Freeborn Ill 

Guething. George A 112 

Goode. William H 113 

Gaddis, Robert 114 

Gatch, Jooseph. 116 

Gruber, Jacob 116 

Gaddis, John 117 

Gale, Elijah 118 

H 

Hedding, Elijah Bishop 119 

Hamilton, Jefferson 126 



PAGK. 

Hamline, Leonidas Bishop.... 127 

Hill, Jeremiah 130 

Harris, George W 131 

Howard, Solomon 131 

Hopkins, James H 133 

Hoevner, Christopher H 134 

Husted. Harvey 135 

Hartley. M. T 135 

Hill, Christian G 136 

Henderson, Rev 136 

Haw, Uriah 136 

Hummelbaugh, H. Y 137 

House, Erwin 140 

Harris, Fletcher 141 

Houseweart, James J 141 

Hall, Emanuel W 143 

Hibbard, Billy 144 

Hance, Alfred 146 

Harmer, James , ... 147 

Hudson, Wesley C 149 

Haven, Gilbert Bishop 150 

"Haven's Swan Song.'* 159 

Haw, Morris 161 

Hunter, Isaac 161 

Henley, Edmund 162 

Hall, Jesse R 162 

Holland, Stephen 163 

Hamilton, George W 163 

Hazen. Wright. 163 

Hall, Augustus 164 

I 

Irwin, John L 164 

Iliff, Benjamin ~ 165 

J 

Jones, Benjamin 166 

Judd, GeorgeS 168 

Jones, John S 169 

Johnson, Rev 170 

Jones, Benjamin 171 

Janes, Edmund E. S- Bishop 172 

Jones, Greenbury R 174 

Janes, John 175 

K 

Keith, William 176 

Knowlton, Gideon A 177 

Kobler, John 177 

Kennon, Robert L 1*0 

Kissling, John - 181 

Kingsley, Calvin Bishop 182 

Kirk, Eli 183 

King, S. D 183 

Kemp, Robert 184 

L 

Lunt. William S. M. D 184 

Lawder, William H 184 

Lewis, Joseph T 185 



CONTENTS. 



429 



PAGE. 

Lewis, T. W 187 



Lumis, William 

Loveil, C harles R 

Levings, Noah, D. D. 

Lee, Adi 

Lewis, Samuel 

Latta, Samuel, A. M. D. 



... 188 



191 

191 
193 



Littlejohn, John 194 

Lytle, David » 195 

Lambert, Chandler 196 

Lotspeich, Ralph 197 

Lewis, Joseph 198 

Lanning, Richard 199 

Lyttle, John S 200 



M 

Martin, Seney 

Mattison, Seth 

Marlay, Michael 

Matthews, McDowe Joseph. 

Meharry, Alexander 

Miller, Levi P 

Monroe, William 

Minor, John W 

Morris, Qerrard 

Marshall, Joseph D 

Miller, C. W 

Moore, James 

Mitchell, John Thomas 

Martin, W 

Marvin. Enoch M 

Mitchell, William B 

Maddux, Samuel 

Morris, John 

Musgrove. A. W 

Morrow, William S 

Morgan. Erasmus B 

Minshall, Robert. 

Merrill, Levi 

Matthews, Samuel 

Matthews. Lasley , 

Monroe, Jonathan 

Mason, Octavius 

Maley, George W 



Norman, Alfred 

Newson, Joseph 

Neel. John P 

Nadal, Bernard H 

Nelson, Reuben, D. D-. 
Newton. Robert, D. D. 
Nolley, Richmond 

O 

Ostrander, Daniel 

O'Farrall, Francis 

Ogden, Pharaoh 

Osborn, Van R 

Orraond William 

Otterbein, William P.. 



200 
201 
202 
204 
205 
206 
207 
207 
208 
209 
209 
209 
210 
213 
213 
215 
216 
216 
217 
218 
219 
219 
220 
221 
222 
222 
22J 
224 



226 
226 
227 
228 
229 
231 
228 



232 | 
233 

235 I 
234 
234 ! 

236 I 



PAGE. 

Owens. George B.„ 237 

Olin, Stephen, D. D 238 

P 

Parsons, Charles B 241 

Purkizer. Micah G 241 

Padgett, Henry 243 

Painter, James 244 

Pickering, George „ 244 

Pearson, Wesley 245 

Payson, Edward 245 

Pierce, Samuel 246 

Patridge, William 246 

Pierce, Lovick, D. D 248 

Parish, Nath. C 249 

Parish, Daniel 249 

Prescott. William 251 

Philips, T. A. G 253 

Poe, Daniel 253 

Pearne. William 254 

Peck, George, D. D 254 

Perkins, John W 255 

Peronett Edward 255 

Pratt, John 256 

Pace, John 256 

Peebles, Oliver B 257 



Quigley, J. W 258 

R 

Reese, Acquilla A 258 

Reed, J. C 259 

Raper, William H 269 

Reeder, Joseph A 261 

Richard, Thomas 262 

Richards, Jesse 263 

Ross, William 264 

Ruter. Martin, D. D 265 

Rounds, Nelson 266 

Ru?sel, Samuel R 267 

Ryder, William 267 

Reed, Nelson „ 268 

Romaine, William 269 

Robert George 270 

Rhoads. L- J 270 

Reed, James 271 

Richardson. John W 271 

Ragan, Joab W 272 

s 

Sewall, Thomas 272 

Sears Clinton W- 276 

Spencer, Robert 277 

Spahr.i Wlliam E 278 

Smith, Moses, D. D 279 

Stockton, Thomas H 281 

Shinn, John 285 

Shockley, James 285 

Scoles, Otis W 286 



430 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Stephen, William H 287 

Stewart, Thomas G 288 

Steele, Joel 288 

Slicer, Henry 289 

Sauter, John 289 

Sandford. Peter P 289 

Scherinerhorn, Richard E 290 

Swanger, John P 290 

Saunders, William 292 

Stevens, Isaac C 292 

Smith, Thomas 293 

Smith, Samuel 294 

Scott, Andrew 294 

Stoddard, Rufus 294 

Soule, Joshua 296 

Strickland, Isaac 297 

Smith, Amos 297 

Sawyer, Seymore B 298 

Smith, John 299 

Simmons, William 300 

Shirtliff Gideon J 302 

Steelo, Elijah 303 

Seys, John... 303 

Swormsted, Leroy 307 

T 

Turner, Edward 311 

Thomas, Christopher 311 

Thompson, Nathan 313 

Townley, G. C 313 

Tarlton. Robert , 315 

Turner, David B 316 

Troy, Edward 317 

Turpin, Thomas D..... 318 

Todd. Wesley John 320 

Thomson Edward, D. D 320 

Tucker, Henry 323 

Tomlinson, Joseph S 325 



PAGE. 

U 

Uncles, Joseph 327 

V 

Vannest, Peter 328 

Vanschoick, John - 330 

John VanLaw 331 

W 

Whitcomb, David 332 

Walker, John 332 

Williams, William 334 

Walker, Benjamin W 335 

Whitney, Alexander W 335 

White, Levi „. 337 

Wilber, P. B 338 

Wilberforce, — 340 

Winans, William D. D 342 

Whatcoat, Richard . 342 

Watters, Nicholas 343 

Wolf, David 344 

Whitted, Thomas Allen 344 

Weed, Bartholomew 345 

Wakefield, J. B., D. D 345 

Walker, George W 348 

Wright, Flavel John, D . D... 349 

West, E. A 352 

Waugh, B. Bishop, D. D 3 2 

Warrington, Charles B 354 

Y 

Young, Thomas L 355 

Yarrington, Samuel B 355 

Young. David, D. D &57 

Yard, Robert B 357 

Young, Jacob, D. D 358 



APPENDIX. 



PAGE. 

Bishop Edward Ames, D.D.. 359 

Dashiell Laurenson, D. D 362 

Prof. Merritt Caldwell 364 

Edmund W. Sehon, D. D 370 

Samuel Ansley 372 

Joshua Boucher 372 

John Campbell, D. D 374 

John II. Fielding, D. D 375 

Z. Barney Philips 376 

Governor Joseph Wright 377 

Wm. II. FyfFo 382 

Bishop Henry B. Bascom 382 

J. Clark Bontecoue 384 

John R. Goodwin 385 

Charles Lesley Judd 387 



PAGK. 

Robert Miller 389 

Enoch George Wood, D. D.... 393 

Alfred M. Loraine 395 

Adam Poe, D. D 397 

Elijah H. Field 388 

Solomon Vonnieda 400 

Thomas A. Morris 401 

Uriah Heath 401 

In the Hospital 404 

Life-Sketch of Rev. J. Meek.. 406 

The Old Itinerants 432 

Missionary's Farewell 114 

Cloud of Witnesses 416 

Brief Mention 421 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



From REV. THOmAS H. PBARNE, D. D., 

(Presiding elder Tayton District, Cincinnati Conference.) 
Rfv M. P. Gaddis, 

Dear Sir ; — I hare looked over the proof-sheets of your forthcoming 
work, entitled, '"Last Words and Old-Time Memories.' ' The scope and 
purpose of the book are admirable- The "'great cloud of witnesses" 
spreads over two hemispheres, and continues through more than a cen- 
tury, forming, however, but a small portion of that scroll written 
within and without, and which will be unrolled and read in the pres- 
ence of assembled worlds- The muster-roll increases as the centuries 
go by : and the testimonies of the later periods are as clear, ringing, 
and triumphant as are those of any former age, not excepting the apos- 
tolic or the martyr times 

These narratives are brief and sketchy ; find this book will be speak- 
ing for Jesus to millions when your tongue "lies silent in the grave. I 
recognize, as very many other readers will, the names and triumphs of 
many personal friends and fellow laborers, who 
"Sooner the haven have gained. 
Outflying the tempest and wind." 

I most cordially commend your four hundred witnesses for God. 

Dayton, Ohio, July 29, 1880. 

From REV. WILLIAM HERR. 
Of the Cincinnati Conference.) 
Rev. m. P. Gaddis, 

Bear Bmtker: — Having had the privilege of examining the advance 

sheets of your new works, entitled, "Last Words and Old-Time Memo- 
ries," and "Saintly Women 'and Death-Bed Triumphs," I feel free 
to give them my hearty commendation. They are unique in con- 
ception, abundant in rich spiritual ' food, luminous in illustra- 
tion of divine truth and the all conquering grace of God. afford 
comfort and persevering courage to the weary pilgrim, and throw a 
hak> of light and glorious triumph around the closing scene of human 
life. They ought to find a place in every household, and be the vade 
meciim of all earth's toilers heavenward. 
Dayton, Ohio, August 5, 1S30. 

From BISHOP JESSE T. PECK, D. D. 
I have had submitted tome the contents of "Last Words and Old- 
Time Memories." and "'Saintly Women and Death-Bed Triumphs,'' by 
Rev. Maxwell P. Gaddis. sen., of the Cincinnati Conference, also the 
Preface, and "Introduction." by Bishop Foster, from all of which I 
have gathered a high opinion of the value of these books. Let all the 
people read them, that they may learn how to live and how to die. 
Syracuse, New York, August. 1S30. 

From REV. W. H. BOOLE, D. D.. 
n Sew York.) 
Being personally acquainted with Rev. Mr. Gaddis. and the religious 
character of his works. I most heartily concur with Bishop Peck in the 
recommendation of his excellent books 
New York. August 13, 1SS0, 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 

From REV. E. T. WELLS, 
(Pastor of Raper Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, Cin. Con.) 
Dear Brother Gaddis :— Having looked over many proof pages of your 
new volumes entitled, "Last Words and Old-Time Memories" and 
"Saintly Women and Death Bed Triumphs," I am persuaded that you 
have produced two books which will prove a treasure to many hearts. 
To the ministry they will be valuable in furnishing instances illustra- 
tive of the power of grace to triumph over death. 
Parsonage, Dayton, Ohio, August 5, 1880. 

From REV. WILLIAM HYPES, D. D., 
(Pastor of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio, Cincin- 
nati Conference.) 
"Last Words and Old-Time Memories" — a book the perusal of which 
will bring tender and blessed memories and new inspiration to many 
hearts. It rescues from oblivion honored names and intensely-inter- 
esting facts. Containing, as it does, elements of church-history, it will 
be of permanent value as a book of reference not only to the ministry, 
but to members of the church generally. 
Dayton, Ohio, August 5, 1X80. 

From REV. A. B. LEONARD, D. D., 
(Presiding elder East Cincinnati District;) 
Rev. M. P. Gaddis, 

Dear Brother .—"Last Words and Old-Time Memories" and ''Saintly 
Women and Death Red Triumphs'' put in permanent form words, 
memories, and death-bed victories that will thrill the heart of the 
church with a new joy. Many a saint will read these pages as the 
"valley" is entered, and thank God that your life was spared to com- 
plete these works, which may well close the literary labors of a useful 
and eventful career. 
Walnut Hills, August, 1880. 

From Dr. J. F MARLAY, D. D., 
(Of the Cincinnati Conference ) 
I have examined some proofs-sheets of Rev. M. P. Gaddis' new books, 
"Last Words and Old Time Memories" and "Saintly Women and Death- 
Bed Triumphs." and am greatly pleased with the plan and execution of 
the work £Mr. Gaddis has done well to make such a compilation. No 
man of my acquaintance is better qualified for such a work. 
Parsonage, Urbana, Ohio, August 10, 1880. 

From REV. GEORGE W WOODRUFF, of Brooklyn, N. Y., secret- ry 

of General Conference, and REV. S. If. PLATT. of Bridgeport, 

Conn , pastor of a Methodist Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. 

We have been very much impressed with the idea of these two new 
books. "Last Words and Old Time Memories" and "Saintly Women 
and Death-Bed Triumphs," by Rev. Maxwell P. Gaddis. sen. We 
judge that they will be thoroughly useful in kindling the faith of God s 
children. We hope they will have a large circulation on the Atlantic 
coast. 

Brooklyn, N. Y., August 12, 1880- 

I fully concur in the above recommendation. 

Rev. Daniel, Macfarlan. 
Yonkers, N. Y., August, 18S«. 

These books may be had of the author, by mail, at Dayton. Ohio, or 
at the Eastern or Western Book morns, and Pittsburgh, Chicago, and 
St. Louis Depository. Price, $1.25 per copy. 



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